Gass HC £53 

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A N 



ESTIMATE 

OF THE 

COMPARATIVE STRENGTH 

O F 

GREA T-BRITAIN; 

AND OF THE 

LOSSES 'of her TRADE 

FROM EVERY WAR SINCE THE REVOLUTION s 

WITH 

AN INTRODUCTION 

OF 

PREVIOUS HISTORY, 

A NEW EDITION, 

CORRECTED AND CONTINUED TO 
1801. 

To which is now annexed 
GREGORY KING'S 
CELEBRATED STATE OF ENGLAND. 



By GEORGE CHALMERS, f.r.s. s.a. 

— MI II IM — I i^— —MM—— | J 

LONDON: 

Printed for J. STOCKDALE, Piccadilly, 



1802, 



HC25-3 



Luke Hanferd, Printer, 
Great TurnfUlt, LinsgliiVlaa Fieldit 



THE 



PREFACE. 



TOURING the flruggles of a great nation, for her 
JL^S fafety, or renown, conjunctures often arife, when 
the perfon, whofe ftation does not admit of his giving ad- 
vice, ought to offer his informations. The prefent [1782 — 
1794 — 1801] feemed to be fuch a time. And the Com- 
piler of the following meets, having collected, for a greater 
work, various documents, with regard to the national re- 
fources, thought it his duty to make an humble tender to 
the public of that authentic intelligence, which, amidft the 
wailings of defpondency, had brought conviction, and com- 
fort, to his own mind. 

Little have they ftudied the theory of man, or obferved 
his familiar life, who have not remarked, that the indivi- 
dual finds the higheft gratification, in deploring the felicities 
of the paft, even amidft the pleafures of the prefent. 
Prompted thus by temper, he has, in every age, complained 
of its decline, and depopulation, while the world was the 
moft populous, and its affairs the moft profperous. 

The reader, who honours the following meets with an 
attentive perufal, may probably find, that though we have 
advanced, by wide fteps, during the laft century, in the fci- 
ence of politics, we have ftill much to learn j but that the 
fummit can only be gained, by fubftituting accurate re- 
fearch, for delufive fpeculation, and by rejecting zeal of pa- 
radox, for moderation of opinion. 

A 2 Mankind 



ii 



THE PREFACE. 



Mankind are now too enlightened to admit of confident 
alTertion, in the place of fatisfa&pry proof, or plaufible no- 
velty, for conclufive evidence. He, confequently, who pro- 
pofes new modes of argument, muft expect contradiction, 
and he, who draws novel condufions from uncommon pre= 
mifes, ought to enable the reader to examine his reafonings ; 
becaufe it is juft inquiry, which can alone eftablifh the cer- 
tainty of truth on the degradation of error. And little, 
therefore, is aiTerted, in the following fheets, without the 
citation of fufHcient authorities, or the mention of authen- 
tic documents, which it is now proper to explain. 

As early as the reign of James I. ingenuity exerted its 
powers to difcover, through the thick cloud, which then 
enveloped an interefting fubject, the value of our exports 
and of our imports j and thence, by an eafy deduction, to 
find, whether we were gainers, cr lofers, by our traffic^ 
Diligent inquirers looked into the entries at the cuftom- 
houie, becaufe they knew, that fmce a duty of five in the 
hundred was collected on the value of commodities, which 
were fent out and brought in, it would require no difficult 
calculation, to afcertain nearly the amount of both. And, 
during that reign, it was eftablifhed as a ,rule, not only 
among merchants, but ftatefmen, to multiply the general 
value of the cuifcoms, inwards and outwards, by twenty, in 
order to find the true amount of the various articles, which 
formed the aggregate of our foreign trade. 

Exceptionable as this mode was, it furnished, through fe- 
veral years of darknefs, the only light, that our anceitors 
had to direct their inexperienced fteps, notwithftanding the 
impatience of politicians, and even the efforts of minifters. 
It is difficult to induce the old to alter the modes of their 
( outh. When the committee of the privy council for trade, 
urged the commiffioners of the cuiloms, about the end of 
Charles Il.'s reign— » <c to enter the feveral commodities, 
which formed the exports and imports, to affix to each its 



THE PREFACE. 



Ill 



ufual price, and to form a general total by calculating the 
value of the whole," — the cuitom-hcufe officers iniifted,—. 
c< that, to comply with fuch directions, would require one 
half of the clerks of London."-— And the theories of thofe 
times continued to fatisfy their curiofity, and to alarm the 
nation, on the fide of her commercial jealcufy ; fince there 
exifted no written evidence, by which their ftatements could 
be proved, or their declamations confuted. 

It was to the liberality, no Iefs than to the perfeverance, of 
the Houfe of Peers, that the public were at laft indebted, in 
1696, for the eftablifliment of the Infpecior-General of the 
Imports and Exports, and for the Qujtom-houfe Ledger^ 
which contains the particulars, and value of both; and 
which forms, therefore, the moft ufeful record, with regard 
to trade, that any country poffefles. 

From this authentic regifter, the parliament was yearly 
fupplied with details, either for argument, or deliberation, 
and fpeculatifts were furnifhed with extracts, for the exer- 
cife of their ingenuity, or the formation of their projects. 
And it is from this commercial regifter, that the value of 
cargoes exported, which will be fo often mentioned in this 
w 7 ork, was alfo taken. 

But, as actual enjoyment feldom enfures continued fatis- 
faction, what had been demanded for a century, when it was 
regarded as unattainable, was ere long derided, as defective, 
when it was poiTciTed. And theorifts, who pointed cut the 
defects of an eftablifhment, that could not be made perfect, 
found many believers, became men's pride is gratified, by 
feeing imperfection in all things. 

When the committee of Peers originally affixed the price s 
whereby each article of export and import fhould in future 
be rated, they probably knew, that the fucceflive fluctuation 
of demand, arifing from the change of faihion, would neceC- 
farily raife the value of fome articles, and fink the price of 
others; but, that the fame fluctuation of tafle, which, in one 



iy 



THE PREFACE. 



age, occafior.ed an apparent error, would in the next re-efta- 
bliih the rule, Nor, did the Peers probably expe£t to af- 
certain the real value of the exports, or of imports, during 
the current year; as the prodigious extent of the calculation 
did not admit of a fpeedy deduction. But, they aimed, with 
-a laudable fpirit, to eftablilh a ftandard, whereby a juft com- 
parifon might be made, between any two given periods of 
the pad; and thereby to infer, whether our manufactures, 
and commerce, profpered, or declined, prior to the current 
year. This information the Ledger of the Info eft or -General 
does certainly convey, with fufficient accuracy, for the ufes 
of practice, or the fpeculations of theory. The official va- 
lue of the exports, and imports, has always been fu ppofed to 
be much under the real value: from recent experience, we 
are now able to ftate the true amount of both. The value 
of Britifh manufafiures, which were exported, was, 

Official value. Real value. 

In 1798 - £.19,672,503 £.33,148,682 
1799 - 24,084,213 — 38,942,498 
j8oo - 24,304,284 — 39 > 47 i j 20 3* Anc * 
by contrafting, in the following work, the average exports 
of diftant years, we are by this means enabled to trace the 
rife, the decline, or the progrefs of traffic, at different pe- 
riods, even in every year. The Infpector- General, who 
efrablifhed that Ledger, in 1696, was William Culli- 
ford ; who was fucceeded, by Dr. Charles Davenant, in 
1703. Yet, half informed writers aiTert, that Davenant 
was the original Infpeclor- General of exports and imports, 
* 4 who formed thofe official values in 1697." See " a Sur- 
vey of the Strength, and Opulence of Great Britain by 
the Rev. Dr. Clarke. 

It is to the fame age that we owe the eflablifhment of 
The regifter -general of ' jhipping* The original inftitution of 
this office arofe from an indefinite claufe in the commiffion 
of the cuftoms, in 1701, Thus jt continued incidental to 

the 



THE PREFAC Et 



V 



the appointment of the Cuftom-houfe commiflioners, till 
" the act, for the union with Scotland, requiring the then 
mips of Scots property to be regiftered, in this olnce, it was 
thought fit to give it a diftinct eftablimment, and at the fame 
time to extend the account, which was kept before, of all 
{hips trading over lea, or coaftways, in England, to the 
fhips in Scotland *." 

The fame reafons, which had induced the traders to enter 
at the Cuftom-houfe, in refpeS to their merchandize^, ra- 
ther too much, incited them, with regard to their veflels, to 
regifter the burden rather too low, becaufe a tonnage duty, 
they knew, would be often required of their., at many ports : 
in the firft operation, they were governed Dy their vanity; in 
the fecond, by their intereft : and if the one furriifbc ; an 
evidence too flattering, the other gives a teftifnony too de- 
grading. Thus have we, in the entrie c of the (hipping, at 
the Cufrom-houfe, all the certainty, that the entries of ex- 
chandize has been fuppofed to want. And, in the following 
work, the quantity of tonnage, rather than the number of 
fhips, has been always fitted, at different periods, with the 
value of cargoes, which they were fuppofec to tranfport, as 
being the molt certain : when to th.- value of cargoes the 
tonnage is added, in the following pages, tne reader is fur- 
nilhed with a fupplemental proof to the ufeful notices, which 
each feparately conveys. 

Of the tonnage of veflels, which will fo often occur, in 
the fubfequent theets, ic muit be always remembered, that 
they do not denote fo many diilinct fhips, which performed 
fo many fingle voyages: for, it frequently happens, that me 
velTel enters and clears at the ( uftom houie, feveral times in 
one year, as the colliers of Whitehaven and Newcaltle: 
but, thefe repeated voyages were in this manner always 
made, and will conftantl) continue ; fo that, being always 



* Charles Godolphm's Memorial to the Treaiury, Dec. 1717* 

A 4 included 



vi 



THE PREFACE. 



included in the annual tonnage, we are equally enabled to 
form a comparative -eitimate of the advance, or decline, of 
our navigation, at any two given epochs of the paft. It is 
to be, moreover, remembered, that the Britim velTels enter 
at the Cuftom-houfe by the regiftered tons, and not by the 
meafured burden of th£ (hip, which is fuppofed -to be for- 
merly one-third ri1ij§^ fo that the reader may in every year, 
through the following.itatements, calculate the tonnage at 
one-L-iird more, than the regiftered tonnage has given it, 
prior to the year 178b, when the new regifter-a£t com- 
menced. « 4$ 

The office of infpector-general of imports and exports, 
for Scotland, was eftabiimed only in 175.5. And no dili- 
gence could procure authentic details of the Scots com- 
merce, from any other fource of genuine information. The 
blank, which appears in the preceding period, as to the Scots 
traffic, funiciently demonftrates, that imperfect evidence, 
with i : } to an important fubjecl\ is preferable to none; 
as the glim wrings of the fainteft dawn is more invigorat- 
ing than the gioon ' total ^acity. Connected accounts 
of the mi f ;ping of Scot; anno be given before 1759; 
becaufe it is only from this year, ! if have been regu- 
larly entered at the Cuftorn-houfe, at lea' 1 conftantly kept. 
In refpect to chtfe, the lame allowance muft be made for re- 
peated voyages^ ana the fine augmentation for the real bur~ 
den more than the regiftered tonnage. It is not pretended, 
that the before- mentioned Cuftom houfe books convey the 
certainty of mathematical demonftration. It is fufficient, 
they contain the heft evidence^ which the nature of the 
cafe admits. 

he 3: of population is fo intimately connected, with 
every ef l; . f die ftrength of nations, that the compiler 
was inducec :o inquire into the populoufnefs of England, 
at different periods, from the earlieft times to the prefent. 
|n this cnrHcult difcuilicnj men, at once candid, and able, 

have 



THE PREFACE. 



vii 



have fpoken a laneuage, often contradictory to each other, 
and fometimes isconfiftent with their own premifes. 

The Lord Chief Juftice Hale, and Gregory King, in the 
fevententh century, and Doctor Campbell and Doctor Price, 
in the prefent times, maintained opinions direelly the rever/s 
of each other, in refpect to the queftion, Whether the people 
of this ifland have not gradually increafed, during every age, or 
fometimes diminifhed, amid public convuiiions, and private 
mifery. The two fir ft — the one a great matter of the rules 
of evidence ; and the other a fkilful calculator, have agreed 
in maintaining the affirmative of that queftion. Doftor 
Campbell has laboured to fhew, that the inhabitants of Eng- 
land diminifhed, in their numbers, under the mifrule of feu- 
dal fovereign5. And DoJtor Price has equally contended, 
that the people have decreafed, iince a happier government 
was introduced at the Revolution, and that they continue to 
decreafe. 

It is propofed to review, hiftorically, the fentiments of 
each, with defign rather to afcertain the authencity of their 
facts, than to eftablifh, or overturn, their feveral fvftems. 
The candid inquirer may perhaps fee caufe for lamenting, in 
his progrefs, that the learned are fometimes too confident, 
and the unlettered always too credulous. And he will have 
an opportunity, as he advances, of liftening to the fenti- 
ments of his anceftors, on various topics of legiflation, and 
of obferving the condition of different ranks of men, pre- 
vious to the period, at which this estimate properly 
begins. 



This Eftimate was firft publifhed, in 17S2. The pub- 
lic approbation has called, fucceffively, for feveral editions. It 
has been tranflated, meanwhile, into the French, the Ruffian, 
and other foreign languages. It has furnifhed comfort to the 
people, at home, from that year, to the prefect : and, during 

that 



THE PREFACE. 



that long period, it has impre{Fed upon the minds of other 
nations high ideas of the opulence, and power, of Great 
Britain. It alfo (hewed to our writers, on political oeco- 
nomy, an example of the great importance of collecting 
many documents, and of trufting more to the weight of 
facts, than to the eiHcacy of words. In fearch both of do- 
cuments, and of fads, our minor ceconomifts have pillaged 
this estimate, without limitation; and with lefs acknow- 
ledgment, than difregard. 

I was the nrft, who difclofed to the public, that, in every 
war, there is a point of depreffion, to which the fpring of 
trade may be thruft down, by the force of hoftilities ; and 
from which, it invariably rebounds with augmented force. 
This confoling difcovery was impugned, at the commence- 
ment of the late war. I came out to maintain my principle; by 
infilling that what had always happened would again happen. 
Experience has now decided the certainty of a comfortable 
truth for ever. At the epoch of that controverfy, the whole 
value of our exports' was £.20,390,1 80, in 1793: the official 
value of our whole exports, gradually, rcfe to £.43,152,019, 
in 1800. Yet, has this difcovery been adopted, with great 
complacency, by a late writer, as his own, Mr. M'Ar- 
thur has in his Political Fafts^ p. 30, the following paflage : 
ct It is no lefs curious than interefting to obferve, that in 
* £ every war fince the Revolution {except the prefent and 
« the war of '1756) our exports, compared with an equal 
< c number of years in the preceding peace, were always 
4C confiderabiy diminifhed ; but that foon after the return of 
<c peace the value of exports rofe beyond their former le- 
" vel." Mr. M'Arthuf had under his eye my Eftimate,p. 70, 
where it is faid :— cc An attentive examination of the car- 
" goes exported, will convince every candid mind, that, in 
" every war, there is a point of depreilion, in trade, as there 
" is in all things, beyond which it dees not decline ; and 
* { from which it gradually rifes beyond the extent of its 

" former 



THE PREFACE. 



« former greatnefs." But, theft is always dangerous ! In 
order to conceal his purpofe, he invalidates his own remark, 
and my difcovery, by excepting the wars of 1756, and 
1793. The former hofiilities depreffed the value of car- 
goes from .£.12,599,112 to ^.11,708,515; and the late 
war from .£.24,905,200, in 1792, to £.20,390,180, in 
T 793. Such are the fairnefs, and accuracy, which the pub- 
lic may expect from fuch writers. Mr. M c Arthur has, how- 
ever, done me great juftice, in p. 22 of his Fafts : he in- 
ferts, in his text, my ftatement of the Poft-office revenue, 
in 1764; and immediately fubjcins, in his note, that as my 
ftatement, from the Pofr-omce account, agrees with his, it 
muft be correct ! ! From me, however, far be the thought 
of deducting from Mr. M 'Arthur one iota, either of his pro- 
fit, or his praife. May the laurel, which only grew {runted 
on my brow, rile foon into fize upon his ! ! ! 

During the war of 1756, Dr. Brakenridge publifhed de~ 
grading accounts of our population, which were tranfcribed 
into the foreign gazettes. His example was followed by 
Dr. Price, during the American war. Seeing fuch doc- 
trines propagated, during two fuccefuve wars, by eminent 
men, I thought I faw, in that coincidence, a fettled purpofe 
to enfeeble the nation, at critical periods, in the eyes of fo- 
reigners. Dr. Price contended, with more confidence, than 
knowledge, that the population of England, and Wales, had 
declined, fince the Revolution, till it fcarcely amounted to 
5,000,000 of fouls. I maintained, that our numbers had 
greatly increafed, in that period ; and that the population of 
England, and Wales, in 1793, was 8,447,200 fouls. The late 
enumeration has demonftrated, that there has been an increafe, 
fince the Revolution, of 2,830,000 people; and that the 
number of fouls, in England, and V/ ales, during the year 
1801, was more than 9,330,000. This enumeration, then, 
fras buried the degrading doctrines of Dr, Price, in ever-dur- 
jng difcredit. 

The 



X 



THE PREFACE, 



The qneflion, now, is not, which of the difputants were 
right; but, which of them, on both thofe oecafions, main- 
tained the truth. Experience has, finally, decided thofe two 
national questions. Demonftration will for ever denounce 
thofe ill-timed philofophers, who, as they delight, in difient- 
ing from public opinion, take a pleafure, in frightening 
well-meaning people with groundlefs terrors. 

I have prefumed to think, that it would be agreeable to 
the public to fee "The Natural and Political Obfervations'"' 
of Gregory King, Efq. which were firft quoted, with praife, 
by Davenant, and have been often mentioned of late, with- 
out due acknowledgment. I have now annexed his curious 
work, from a fine copy in the Britijh Mufeiwi. As the mo- 
deft Gregory King is unknown to our biographers, I have 
prefixed to his Obfervations a few notices of his life. From 
me, he has amply merited this attention ; as I have bene- 
fited from his labours. What Pope faid of Rofcommon may^ 
with fome variation, be fairly applied to that ingenious com-* 

puter : 

To him moral arithmetick was known, 
And ev'ry ftatefman's merit, but his own. 



THE 



TABLE of CONTENTS. 



Chap. I. 

General Observations upon the Caufes, phyficdl and mo- 
ral, which influence Population, in every Country, 

The Populoufnefs, Commerce, and Power of Eng- 
land, prior to the Demife of Edward III. — The 
Number of People, 1377. — Reflexions. 

Page 1— 15. 

Chap. II. 

The Population, in the principal T owns of England, 
during 1 37 7.— Reflexions. — The Populoufnefs, and 
Commerce, Policy and Power, of England, from 
that Epoch to the Acceffion of Elizabeth. 

Page 16—34. 

Chap. 



THE CONTENTS* 



Chap. III. 

The State of England, at the Accejfion of Elizabeth. — * 
Her Laws.— 'The Numbers of People, during her 
Reign, — Her Strength. — The Policy, and Power, of 
the two Jubfequent Reigns.— 1 'he State of England, 
at the Reft oration. — The Number of People, at the 
Revolution. — Reflections. - Page 35 — 59. 

Chap. IV. 

Opinions as to the Strength of Nations. — Reflections.— 
The real Power of England, during King William's 
Reign. — The State of the Nation. — The Lojfes of 
her Trade from King William* s Wars.— Her Com- 
merce revives. — Complaints of Decline, amidft her 
Profperity.— Reflections. - - Page 60 — Si* 

Chap. V. 

The War of Queen Anne.-— The Strength of the Na- 
tion.— The Lojfes of Trade.— The Revival of 
Trade. — Complaints of its Decline. — The Laws of 
Queen Anne, for promoting the Commereial Inter efts 
of the Nation. — The Union.— Reflections. 

Page 82 — 96. 

Chap. 



THE CONTENTS* 



xiii 



Chap. VI. 

Foreign Difputes of George I— -The State of the Na- 
tion. — Observations. — The Progrefs of Commerce , 
and Shipping. — Complaints of a Decline of Trade. — 
Induftry, and Traffic, encouraged. — Remarks. 

Page 97 — 109. 

Chap. VII. 

The State of the Nation, at the Acceffion of George II 
—-Remarks thereon* — The Incrcafe of Trade, and 
Shipping. — Complaints of their Decline. — Reflections. 
—Our Strength when War began, in 1739. — Our 
Trade, and Shipping, during the War. — The Prof- 
perily of both, at the Reft or at ion of Peace. — Com- 
plaints of Decline. — Remarks. - Page 110 — 125. 

Chap. VIII. 

A captious Peace produced a new War. — The Re- 
fources of Britain. — Trade profpers amidft Hofti- 
lities. — Its Amount at the Peace of 1763. — Re- 
marks. - Page 126— -133. 

Chap. IX. 

The Commercial Failures, in 1763. — Opinions thereon* 
—The true State of the Nation*— *ObJervations on 



THE CONTENTS. 



the Peace of 17 6 3. ~— Various Laws for promoting 
domeftic Improvements. — Satisfactory Proofs of our 
Commercial Profperity y at the Epoch of the Colonial 
Revolt. — Tety were our Tirade \ and Shippings popu- 
larly, reprefented as much on the Decline. 

Page I34—I53- 

Chap. X. 

The Colonial Revolt. — The State of the Nation. — Her 
Finances, Trade and Shipping. — Her military 
Power. — The Lojfes of Trade, from the l¥ar.~~ 
The Revival of Trade on the Re-eft ablifhment of 
Peace. — Remarks thereon. —Financial Operations. 
—The Sinking Fund eftablifoed. — Its falutary Po- 
licy. ~ Page 154—192. 

Chap. XL 

The Controverfy on the Populoufnefs of Britain re- 
vived. — The Parties.—* A Review of their Publica- 
tions. — An Examination of the Argument— from 
Reafoning—from Fails— from Experience* — The 
augmented Populoufnefs of Ireland, — The Increafe 
of People in Scotland. — The general Rejult — as to 
England j, and* the conteft decided, by the Enume- 
ration* - Page 193 — 233. 

Chap. 



THE CONTENTS. 



Chap. XIL 

A Review cf the foregoing Documents propcfed. — A 
fupplemental Proof, from a Chronological Account cf 
Commerce. — A Commentary thrreonY-~The fuccef- 
five Epochs, from 166c, to 1 8 o i . — The. T onnage 
of Shipping. — The Value of exported Cargoes. — 
The- Balance of Trade.— The Nett Cuftoms. — 
The Amount of the Coinage, in that long Period. — 
The Conclufion cf this Review, vjhich reflects a flat- 

' tering Profpecl of our future Profperity. 

Page 234 — 26S. 

Chap. XIII. 

The Profperity of Great Britain from 1783 /0 1793. 
— The Caufes affigned. — The Eaft India Trade. — 
The Fijheries encouraged. — The New Navigation 
AcJ.— Foreign Treaties. — Manufactories promoted. 
— Agriculture encouraged. — A thoufand Laws for 
local Improvements. — Revenue Acls. — Financial 
Operations. — Their falutary Confequences. 

Page 269—282* 

Chap. XIV. 

The Strength of Great Britan in 1 7 93. — From her Po- 
puloufnefs. — From her Trade. — From the Numbers of 
b her 



THE CONTENTS. 



her Shipping, and Sailors. — From the Magnitude of 
the Royal Navy. — From her Revenue. — The lofs, 
and augmentation, of her Trade. — The Bankruptcies 
cf 1793. — Thelapfe of the Bank of England. — Our 
*uafl Commerce. — The Improvement of the Country. 
—The Corn Trade. — Finance Operations of the 
War. — The Re ace. — The Confequences.—The Con- 
clufwn. — 1 — — Page 283-382. 



Notices of the Life of Gregory King. — His 
Political Conclufions. — His Scheme of the Inhabi- 
tants of the City of Gloucefter. — His Computation 
of the Endowed Hofpitals, and Alms Houfes, in 
England* ~ — Page 383 — 449, 



AN 

ESTIMATE 

OF THE 

COMPARATIVE STRENGTH 

OP 

GREAT BRITAIN. 



1801. 



A N 



ESTIMATE 

OF THE 

COMPARATIVE STRENGTH 
F 

GREAT BRITAIN, 



Chap. L 

General Observations upon the Cdtijes, phyfical ami 
■ moral, which influence Population, in every Coun- 
try. — The Populoufne/s, Commerce^ and Power, of 
England, prior to the Demi/e of Edward 1IL — This 
Number of People, 1377. — Reflexions. 

the exifting numbers of mankind in fuo 
V^/ ceffive ages of the world, various writers have 
given diffimilar accounts, becaufe they did not al- 
ways acknowledge the fame facts, nor often adopt 
the fame principles, in their moil ingenious difqui- 
fitions. 

The Lord Chief Juftice Hale* formerly, and Sit 
James Stuart f , and the Co«nt de Buffon, lately 



* In his Primitive Origination of Mankind Confidered. 
t In his Political Q economy. 

B confidered 



2 



AN ESTIMATE ©* 



confidered men, as urged, like other animals, by 
natural inftincts; as directed, like them, by the 
fame motives of propagation; and as fubfifted 
afterwards, or deftroyed, by fimilar means. 

It is inftinct, then, which, according to thofe il- 
luftrious authors, is the caufe of procreation; but 
it is food, that keeps population full, and accumu- 
lates numbers. The force of the firft principle, wc 
behold in the multitudes, whether of the fiiri of the 
fea, the fowls of the air, or the beafts of the field, 
which are yearly produced : we perceive, however, 
the erTential confequence of the laft, from the vaft 
numbers, that annually perilh for want, 

Experience indeed evinces, to what an immenfe 
extent domeftic animals may be multiplied, by pro- 
viding abundance of food. In the fame manner, 
mankind have been found to exift, and increafe, in 
every condition, and in every age, according to the 
ftandard of their fubfiftence, and to the meafure of 
their comforts. 

Hence Mr. Hume jufily concludes*, that if we 
would bring to fdme determination the queftion 
concerning the populoufnefs of ancient, and mo- 
dern, times, it will be requifite to compare the 
domeftic and political fituations of the two periods, 
in order to judge of the facts by -their moral caufes; 
becaufe, if every thing elfe be equal, it feems rea- 
fonable to expect, that where there are the wifeft 

* In his EiTays, Vol. I. EfTay. xi. On the Populoufnefs of 
Ancient Nations* 

6 inftitu- 



1*HE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". J 

InftitutionSj and the rrioft happinefs, there will alfo 
be the moft people. 

Let us run over the hiftory of England, then, 
nvith a view to thofe reafonino-s and to this truth. 

Settled probably about a thoufand years before 
the birth of Chrift, England was found, on the 
arrival of Casfar, to contain a great multitude of 
people. But this ob/ervznt author tranfmitted notices, 
with regard to the modes of life, which prevailed 
among thofe, whom he came to conquer, whence 
we may judge of their numbers, with greater cer- 
tainty, than from die accuracy of his language, or 
the weight of his authority. And he fubmits to 
our judgment fufrkient 4ata% when he informs us, 
that the inhabitants of the inland country fubnfted 
by feeding of flocks, while their neighbours along 
the mores of the ocean were maintained by the 
more productive labours of agriculture. 

Having already arrived, fome of the tribes in 
the fecond, and others of them in the third ftage 
of fociety, in its progrefs to refinement, the Bri- 
tons were foon taught the arts of manufacture, and 
the purfuits of commerce, by their civilizing con- 
querors. A people who annually employed eight 
hundred veffels to export the furplus produce of 
their huibandry, muft have exerted great induftry 
at heme;, and enjoyed fufficieht plenty from it. Ro- 
man Britain, of confequence, muft have become 
extremely populous, when compared with former 
times, during that long period, from the arrival of 
the Romans, 55 years before the birth of Chrift, 

B a to 



4 AN ESTIMATE OF 

to the abdication of their government, in 446 of 
our ^ra*. 

From this event, commenced a war of fix hun- 
dred years continuance, if we calculate the fettle- 
merit of the Saxons, the ravages of the Danes, 
and the conqueft of the Normans. A courfe of 
hoftilities, thus lengthened beyond example, and 
wafteful above defcription, changed completely 
the political condition of the people, by involving 
them in ages of wretchednefs. It was to thofe 
caufes owing, that the inhabitants became divided, 
at the epoch of tfhe Conqueft, into five feveral 
clalTes ; the barons, the free tenants, the free foc- 
cagers, together with the villains, and the flaves, 
who formed the great body of the people f. 

A confideration of the foregoing events, it pro- 
bably was, with the wretched condition of every 
order of men, which induced the Lord Chief 
Juftice Hale, and Mr. Gregory King, to agree in 
arTerting J, £C that the people of England, at the 
<c arrival of the Normans, might be fomewhat 
" above two million' 1 And the notices of that 
mod inftruclive record, the Domefday Book, feem 
to juftify the conjectures of both, by exhibiting 
fatisfactory proofs of a very fcanty population, at 

* Mr. Whitaker's moft excellent Hiltory of Manchefter, 
vol. i. which gives the beft account of the Britiih and Roman- 
Britifh period of our Annals. 

i Id. 

X Origination of Mankind j and Davenant's Works. 

that 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN, J 

that memorable epoch,, in the country, as well as 
in the towns *. 

The annals of England, from the epoch of the 
Conquer! to the date of the Great Charter (from 
1066 to 1 21 5) are filled with revolutions in the 
government, and infurredtions of the people ; with 
domeftic ravages, and foreign war ; with frequent 
famines, and their attendant peftilence. 

Doctor Campbel has enumerated f various ch> 
cumftances to demonftrate the unhappinefs of the 
nation, during thofe times, which were equally fe- 
rocious and unfettled ; and, by neceffary confe- 
quence, to fhow the conftant decline of their num- 
bers. 

Few revolutions, faid he, even when atchieved 
by the moft wafteful conquerors, appear to have 
been attended with fo fudden a revolution, both 
of property and of power, as that which Wil- 
liam I. unhappily introduced into England. The 
confiitution, from being limited, and free, became 
at once arbitrary and fevere. While the ancient 

* In Mr. Whitaker's admirable Hiltory of Manchefter, 
vol. ii. p. 345 — 354, there is a very curious table of the rates 
for moft of the neceiTaries of life, both at home and abroad, 
in the feventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh centuries ; whereby 
it appears, that fuch neceiTaries were much dearer formerly 
than at prefent; and that moil things were in thofe ages much 
dearer at home than abroad. It is apparent then, that though 
we are often impofed upon by the denominations of money, 
the great body of the people did not live fo comfortably in' 
thofe good old timss. 

f Political Survey, 2 vol. ch. iii. 

B 3 nobilitf 



6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

nobility feemed to be annihilated, the Saxon people 

were afTuredly reduced to villainage. And thofe 
revolts enfued fuccefTiveiy, which neceffarily arife, 
when a gallant people are defpifed, at the fame time 
that they are opprefled. The Conquer or, ur> Y ed 
partly by revenge, perhaps more by policy, was 
provoked, by the infurre ion of the northern 
counties, to prefcribe remedies as fevere as they 
were barbarous. He fo effectually depopulated 
the extenfive country from the Humber to the Fees, 
that it lay for years uncultivated, whereby multi- 
tudes perifhed for want. The pleafures of William 
too were as deftructive to the people as his anger. 
In forming the New Foreft, he laid wafte an extent 
pf thirty miles in Hampfhire, without regarding 
the cries of villagers, or the facrednefs of churches. 
And his gratitude to his fupporters, though at- 
tended with lefs violence, produced, in the end, 
confequences ftill more fatal, with regard to the 
depopulation of England, than had refuked either 
from his refentment, or his fport. He diftributed 
the whole kingdom to about feven hundred of his 
principal officers, who afterwards divided among 
their followers the fpoils of the vanquished, on fuch 
precarious tenures, as fecured the fubmiffioh of the 
lower orders, though not their happinefs. 

The Conqueror's meafures, thus hadhly exe- 
cuted, continued to influence all ranks of men, long 
after the terrors of his government had ceafed ; 
and while they neither fecured the quiet, nor pro- 
moted, 



The strength of g. Britain. j 

rnoted the plenty of the nation, his rigours pro- 
bably added very few to its numbers. 

The great charter of John made no alteration 
in public law, nor any innovation in private rights: 
and though it conferred additional fecurity on the 
free, it gave little freedom to the flave. Yet, the' 
barbarous licence both of kings and nobles being 
thenceforth fomevvhat retrained, government, fays 
Mr. Hume*, approached by degrees nearer to that 
end, for which it was inftituted, the equal protec- 
tion of every order in the ftate. 

This general reafoning, however juft, did not 
impofe on the fagacity of Dr. Campbel, who 
minutely examined f every circumftance, in our 
fubfequent annals, that tended either to retard, or 
promote, an effective population. He found no 
event in the long reign of Henry III. filled as it 
was with diftra£tion, proceeding from weaknefs, 
and with civil war, the refult of turbulence, which 
could have added one man to our numbers. 
Though hiftorians have celebrated the following 
reigns of our Edwards, as the moft glorious in our 
annals ; ye* he remarked, that, during a period, 
wherein there were fcarcely ten years of peace, the 
eclat of victories, the fplendour of triumphs, or 
the acquifition of diftant territories, did not com- 
penfate the lofs of inhabitants, who, continually de- 
creafed, from the wade of foreign, and civil, wars, 

* In his Hiftory. 

■J- In his Political Survey, 2 vol. ch. £& 

B 4 and 



S AN ESTIMATE OF 

and from the debility of peftilential diftempers,- 
arifmg from a wretched huibandry, as much as 
from a noxious ftate of the atmofphere. It was a 
fhrewd remark of Major Graunt*, when he was' 
reflecting over <c the ficklinejs, the healthfulnejs, and, 
^ fruit fulnefs, of feafons" that " the more fickiy the 
^ years are, the lefs fruitful of children they alfo be-\" 
The firft notice, which the Parliament feem to 
have taken of the paucity of inhabitants, may be 
feen in the Statute of Labourers, that was enacled in 
1349. This law recites — cc That whereas a great - 
part of the people, and efpecially of workmen and 
fervants, late died of the peftilence, many, feeing 
the necefiity of matters and great fcarcity of fer- 
vants, will not ferve, unlefs they receive exceflive. 
wages, fome being rather willing to beg in idle- 
nefs, than by labour to get their living." Confi- 
dering therefore " the- grievous incommodities 
which of the lack, efpecially of ploughmen and 
fuch labourers, may hereafter come/' Edward III. 
with the affiftance of the prelates, the nobles, and 
the learned men, ordained a variety of regulations, 
which were unjuft in their theory,' and violent in 
their execution J. This edift of the King, and his 

council^ 

* In his Cbfervations on the Bills of Mortality, 1662. 
f There were no fewer than one-and-twenty dearths and 
famines from 1069 to 1355. bee a Collection of the molt 
remarkable dearths and famines, publiihed by Edward Howe, 
|n 1 63 1. ••• '" • vS . 

X Thefe regulations may be feen in Cay's Collection of 
Statutes, vol. i. p, 261—33 and funiciently prove to what a 

deplorable 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. 

council, was enforced by the legiflature in the fu - 
fequent year — u on the petition of the commonaky, 
that the faid fervants, having no regard to the laid 
ordinance, but to their eafe and fingular .covetife, 
do withdraw to ferve great men and other, unlejs 
they have wages and living to the double and treble of 
that they were went to take the twentieth year of thg 
king that now is." 

Yet, after adjufling minutely the prices of la- 
bour, of natural products, and even of manufac- 
tures, the ftatute of the 23d Edward III. directed, 
c f that the artificers mould be {worn to ufe their 
grafts as they did in the twentieth year of the fame 
king*" (1346), under the penalty of imprifen- 
rnent, at the difcretion of the Juliices. The Par- 
liament bufied themfelves, year after year, in re- 
gulating labour, which had been defrauded of its 

deplorable ftate of (lavery the collective mafs of the people was 
then reduced. " Every able-bodied perfon, under fixty years 
of age, not having fufficient to live on, being required, mall 
be bound to ferve him that doth require him, or elfe mall be 
committed to gaol, till he finds fecurity to ferve. If a fervant, 
or workman, depart from fervice before the time agreed upon, 
he mall be imprifoned. If any artificer take more wages than 
were Wont to be paid, he mail be committed to gaol." The 
feverity of thefe penalties was foon greatly increafed by the 
34th Edward III. which' directs, "That if any labourer or 
fervant flee to any town, the chief officer mail deliver him up : 
and if they depart to another county, they mail be burnt in 
the forehead with the letter F." Thus, fays Anderfon, they 
lived* till manufactures drove flavery away. 

Chron. Ac. of Com. v. i. p. 204. 

* Chap, 1—7. 

juft 



fO AN ESTIMATE OF 

juft reward, by confiderable defalcations from the 
coin*. During an adminiftration lefs active, and 
vigorous, and refpedted, than Edward's, fuch regu- 
lations had produced tumult and revolt. Scarcely 
indeed was that great monarch laid in his grave, 
-when the confirmation of the fame ftatutes, by his 
feeble flicceflor, gave rife to the memorable rebel« 
lion of Tyler and Straw, which was fo deftructive in 
its immediate effects, yet proved fo beneficial in .its 
ultimate confequences ! The common people ac- 
quired implied liberty from infurrection, while the 
Parliament were enacting f, "that forced manumifficm 
Jhould be ccrijidered as void." And fuch are the re- 
volutions, which infenfibly take place, during ages 
of darknefs, before the eyes of chroniclers, who 
are carried away by the found of words, without 
regarding the efficacy of things. 

The declamatory recitals of fuch ftatutes ought 
generally to be regarded as flight proofs of the 
authenticity of facts, unlefs where they are fup- 
ported, by collateral circumftances. From the re- 
iterated debafement of the coin, which proceeded 
from the expenfive wars of Edward III. we might 
be apt to infer, that the recited deftruction of the 

* From the value of the found, or twenty millings in pre- 
sent money, as eftablifhed by Edward I. in 1300, there were 
deducted by Edward III. in the 18th of hisj-eign, 4/. 1 \d.\> 
and in the 20th of his reign gd.± more; fo that there had 
been taken no lefs than five millings and nine -pence from the 
ftandard pound, as fettled in 1 300, of £.2. ijs. $d. 

Harris on Coins, part ii. ch. 1. 

•j- By the 5 th Richard II. 

peftilence 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 13 

peftilence was merely a pretence to palliate mo- 
tives of avarice, or to juilify the rigours of oppre£- 
fion. 

On the other hand, Doctor Mead aiTures us, 
that the greater! mortality, which has happened in 
laiec ages, —as about the middle of the four- 
teenth century ; when the plague that leized Eng- 
land, Scotland; and Ireland, in 134.9, is /aid to 
have difpeopled the earth of more than half of its 
inhabitants*. The Commons petitioned, during 
the Parliament f of 1364, that, in consideration 
of the preceding peitTence, the King would allow 
perfons, who held lands of him in chief, to let 
leafes without a licence, as had been lately prac- 
tifed, till the country were become mere populous. 
From the 23d of Edward I. when the cities and 
boroughs are faid to have been firit formally fum- 
moned to Parliament, to the demife of Edward IV- 
the fheriffs often returned, That there were no 
cities or boroughs in their counties, whence reprejenta- 
fives could be, Jent. This fjrm of exprefiion Doc- 
tor Brady £ has very juftly explained to mean, 
That the towns were fo depopulated and poor, 
as to be unable to pay the accuftomed expences 
of delegates. The truth of that reprefentation, 
and of this commentary, feems to be confirmed by 

* Difcourfe concerning Peft. Contag, p. 24— 5. 
f Cott. Abt. of Records, p, 97. 
X Of Boroughs, p. 125, &c. 

a law 



12 



A N ESTIMATE OF 



a law of Henry VII. * : % which recites, That where,, 
in fome towns, two hundred perfons lived bv their 
lawful labours, now they are occupied by two or 
three herdfmen, and the refidue fall into idlenefs. 
And, from the foregoing facts we may furely infer, 
that there muft have been a great paucity of peo- 
ple in England, during thote good old times, at leaft 
towards the conclufion of the celebrated reign of 
Edward III. 

From incontrovertible evidence we C3n now 
eftablifh the whole number of inhabitants, at that 
epoch, with fufficient exactnefs to anfwer all the 
practical purpofes of the flatefman, and even to 
fatisfy all the fcrupulous doubts of the fceptic. A 
poll- tax of four-pence, having been impofed by the 
Parliament of the 51ft of Edward III. (t 377) on 
every lay perfon, as well male as female, of fourteen 
years and upwards, real mendicants only excepted, 
there remains an official return of the perfons who 
paid the tax, in each county, city, and town, which 
has been happily preferved f. And, from this 

fubfidy- 

* 4th Henry VI T. ch. 19; which is published in the Ap- 
pendix to Pickering's Statutes, vol. xxiii. 

f This record, fo inftructive as to the flate of England at' 
the demife of Edward III. was laid before the Antiquary So- ; 
ciety, in December 1784, by Mr. Topham of the Paper- 
OfBce ; a gentleman, whofe curious refearch, with regard to 
the jurifprudence and hiftory of his country, as well as com- 
municative difpoiition, merits the greateft praife. Mr. Top- 
ham obferved, that the fum collected, in confluence of the 

fubfidy 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN* 1J 

fiibfidy-roll it appears, that the lay perfons, who 
paid the before -mentioned poll-tax, amounted 
to t-- - - ^367,239. 

When we have- alcertained what -proportion the 
perfons paying bore to the whole, we mall be able 
to form a fufEcient eftimate of the total popula- 
tion. It appears from the table formed by Doc- 
tor Halley, according to the Breflaw binhs and 
burials 3 from the Northampton Table ; from the 
Norwich Table; and from the London table, 
conftructed by Mr. Simpfon ; as thefe Tables are 
publifhed by Doctor Price*; That the perfons at 
any time living under fourteen years of age are a 
good deal fewer than one-third of the co-exiliing 
lives. And the lay perfons, who paid the tax in 
1 21 7> murl confequently have been a good deal 
more dian two-thirds of the- whole-. 

But, fince there may have been omif- 

fions of the perfons paying - 1, 367,239 

Add a half - 683,619 



2,050,858 

fubfidy of 1377, being £.22,607. 2;. SJ. contained only 
1,356,428 groats, which ought to have been the amount of 
thole who were fourteen years of age and upward?. But I 
nave chofen to irate the number of perfons, who are mentioned 
in the roll as having paid, in each county and town, amount- 
ing to 1,367,239, though the total miftakingly added on the 
record is 1,376,442. 

* Obferv. on Reverf. Payments, vol. ii. p. 35 — 6, 39 — 40. 

Add 



*4 ESTIMATE OF 

Brought over - 2,050,85$ 
Add the number of beneficed clergy 

paying the tax - - - 15,229 

And the non-beneficed clergy- - ij>93^ 



2,080,019 



But Wales, not being included in this 
roll, is placed on a footing with 
Yorkihire *, at - - 196^566 

Chefhire and Durham, having had 
their own receivers, do not appear 
on the roll 5 the firft is ranked with 
Cornwall, at - 5 1*41 1 

The fecond with Northumberland, at 25,2 13 



The whole people of England and 

Wales - - 2,357,103 



* From Davenant's Table (in his Eflay on Ways and 
Means, p. 76.) it appears, that Wales paid a much fmaller 
•furn to the poll-tax of the ill of William and Mary, to the 
quarterly poll, and indeed to every other tax, and contained 
a much lower number of houfes, according to the hearth-book^ 
of Lady-day 1690, than Ycrkfhire. It was giving a very large 
allowance to Wales, when this country was placed on an equality 
tvith Yorkihire, which paid, in 1377, for 131,040 lay perfons. 
The population of Chefhire and Durham was fettled Tipoa 
fimilar principles^ and is equally Hated in the text at a me- 
dium rather tco high. So that, as far as we can credit this 
authentic record, in refpecl to the whole number of lay per- 
fons upwards of fourteen years of age, we mult believe, that 
this kingdom contained at the demife of Edward HI. about 
two millions, three hundred and fifty-three thoufand fouls; 
making a reafonable allowance for the ufual omifiions of tax- 
able perfons* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. || 

We can now build upon a rock having before us 
proofs, which are almoft equal in certainty to actual 
enumerations. Yet, what a picture of public mifrule, 
and private mifery, does the foregoing ftatement 
difplay, during an unhappy period of three hun- 
dred years ! W e here behold the powerful ope- 
ration of thofe caufes of depopulation, which Doc- 
tor Campbel collected, in order to fupport his hy^ 
pothefis of a decreasing population, in feudal HtM£s\ 
But, were we to admit, that one-half of the people 
had been carried off by the defolating plague of 
I 349> as Doctor Mead fuppofes ; or even one- 
third, as Mr. Hume reprefents with greater pro- 
bability; we mould find abundant reafon to ad- 
mire the folidity of Lord Hale's argument, in 
favour of a progreiTive population 3 becaufe this 
circurr .fiance would alone evince, that there had 
been, in that long erBuxLn of time, a confiderabk 
increafe of numbers, during various years of 
heakhinefs, and ia differen: ages <*f tranquillity* 



'C H A P # 



if 



AN ESTIMATE dF 



Chap. II. 

the Population in the principal Towns of England 1 , 
during 1377. — Reflexions. — The Populoufnefs; 

. Commerce, Policy, and Power of England— from 
that Epoch to the Acceflion of Elizabeth. 

TH E truth of Lord Hale's tonclufion, with 
regard to a progressive" increafe of people^ 
would appear (till more evident, if we were to 
form a comparifcn between the notices of Domef- 
day bock and the ftatements of the Subfidy-roll 
before -mentioned, which would lhow a much 
inferior populoufnefs, foon after the Conqueft, in 
1077, than at the demife of Edward, in 1377; 
We fhall certainly find additional proofs, and per- 
haps fome amufement, from taking a view of the 
population of our principal towns, as they were 
found, and are reprefented by the tax-gatherers, in 
*377- 

London paid for - 233314 lay perfons; and 
contained confequently about - 34,971 fouls. 
York for - - 7,248 - 10,872 
Briftol for - - 6,345 - 9^517 
Plymouth for - 4,837 - 7>-55 

Coventry for - 4*817 - 7,225 

Norwich 



THE STRENGTH 


6f g. 


BRITAIN. 


Norwich* for 


3.952 


- 5.92S 


Lincoln for 


3.4-12 




Sarum (Wilts) for - 


3.226 


4.839 


Lynn for 


3.^27 


4.690 


Colchefter for - 


2,955 


4.432 


Beverley for 


2,663 


3.994 


Nev/caftle on Tyne for 


2,647 


3.970 


Canterbury for 


2,574 


- 3.861 


St. Edmondfbury for 


2,442 


3. 66 3 


Oxford for 


2>357 


3.535 


Glocefter for 


2,239 


- 3.35^ 


Leicefter for 


2,IOI 


- 3> I 5 I 


Salop for - 


2 3 oS2 


3.123 



The foregoing are the only towns, which, iri 
1 377, paid the poll-tax of a groat for more than two 
thoufand lay perfons, of fourteen years of age and 
upwards. And thdr inconfiderablenefs exhibits a 
marvellous depopulation in the country, and a la- 
mentable want of manufactures* and of commerce, 
every where, in England. The Hate of Scotland 
was ftill more wretched with regard to all thefe e 
Domefday Book reprefcnts our cities to have been 
little fuperior to villages, at the Conqueft f 3 and 

* Dr. Price talked of Norwich having been a great city 
ftrmerly. The Domefday Book mews fufficiently the diminu- 
tivenefs of our towns in 1077: and Mr. Topham's Subfidy 
Roll puts an end to conjecture with regard to the populoufnefs 
of any of them anterior to 1377. 

f See Brady on Boroughs. 



much 



IS AN ESTIMATE OF 

much more inconfiderable than they certainly were, 
at the demife of Edward III. 

The informations of contemporary writers would, 
neverthelefs > lead us to confider thole early reigns 
as times of overflowing populoufnefs. Amidft ail 
that depopulation, Edward III. is faid to have fud- 
denly collected, in 1360, a hundred thoufand men, 
whom he tranfported in eleven hundred veffels to 
France *. It did not, however, efcape the fagacity 
of Mr. Hume, when he reflected on the high pay 
of the foldiers, that the numerous armies, which 
are mentioned by the hiftorians of thofe days, con- 
fided chiefly of raggamuffins, who followed the 
camp for plunder. In 1382, the rebels, fays Da- 
niel f, fuddenly marched towards London, under 
Wat. Tyler, and Jack Straw, and muftered or* 
Blackheath fixty thoufand ftrong, or, as others fay, 
an hundred thoufand. In 1415, Henry V. in- 
vaded France with a fieet of iixteen hundred fail J, 
and fifty thoufand combatants, who not long after 
won the glorious battle of Azincourt. Our hiftory 
is filled with fuch inftances of vaft armies, which 
had been haflily levied for temporary enterprizes : 
yet, we ought not thence to infer, that the country 
was overlooked with inhabitants. This truth is 
extremely apparent from the ftatute of the 9th 
Henry V. which recites, " That whereas, at the 

* Ander. Chron. Ac. of Com. v. i. p. 191. 
f Hiftory of Richard, in Kennet, p. 245. 
I And. Chron. Ac. of Ccm. v.. i. p. 245. 

fC making 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. I9 

lc making of the act of the 14th of Edward III. 
cc (1340) there were fuffecient of proper men 
tf in each county to execute every omce but that, 
" owing to peftiience and wars ? there are not now 
<c (1421) a fufnciency of refponfible perfons to 
u acl as fnerifFs, coroners, and efcheators." The 
laurels, which were gained by Henry V. are well 
known, fays the learned obferver on the ancient 
ftatutes ; but he hath left us,- in the preamble of 
one of his ftatutes, molt irrefragable proof, that 
they were not obtained, but at the deareft price.? 
the depopulation of the country. 

The facility, with which great bodies of men 
were collected, in thofe early ages, exhibits, then, 
for our inftruction, a picture of manners, idle and 
licentious j and mews only, for our comfort, that 
the mod numerous clafTes of mankind exifted in a 
condition, which is not to be envied by thofe, who, 
in better times, enjoy either health, or eafe. 

The period from the acceflion of Henry IV. in 
1399, to the proclamation of Henry VII. in 1485, 
may be regarded as the rnoft difaftrous in our latter 
annals becaufe, a civil war, remarkable for the 
inveteracy of the leaders, and for the v/afte of the 
people, began with the one event, and ended with 
the other. Doctor Campbel has collected the va- 
rious circumfiances of depopulation, tending to prove, 
that the number of inhabitants, which, before the 
bloody contefts between the Lancaftrians and 
Yorkifts began, had been already much leffenedy 
was in the end greatly reduced, by a feries of the 

C a rnoft 



lb A N EST! M ATE O $ 

moft deftruclive calamities. The monuments of 
more fettled times were demolifhed ; the coun- 
try was- laid wafte ; cities funk into towns, while 
towns dwindled into villages : and univerfal defo- 
lation is faid to have ehfued. Nor, was the condi- 
tion of the country much meliorated, by the re- 
eftabliftiment of domeftic quiet. If, indeed, we 
could implicitly credit the recitals of the laws of 
Henry VII. we mould find fufRcient evidence, 
<f That great defolations daily do increafe, by pull- 
<c ing down and wilful wafte of houfes and towns, 
cc and by laying to pafture lands which cuftomably 
"-have been ufed in tillage." 

An important change had certainly taken place 
mean while, in the condition of the great body of 
the people, which fortunately promoted their hap- 
pinefs, and which confequently proved favourable 
to the propagation of the ipecies. 

There exifted in England, at the Conqueft, no 
free hands> or freemen, who Worked for wages , 
lince the fcanty labour of times, warlike and unin- 
dullrious, was wholly performed by villains, or by 
Haves. The latter, who compofed a very nume- 
rous clafs, equally formed an object of foreign 
trade, for ages after the arrival of the Conqueror, 
who only prohibited the fale of them to infidels*. 
But the flakes had happily departed from the land 
before the reign of Henry III. This we may in- 
fer from the law declaring, in 1225, "How men 

* Dr. Henry's Hiftory of Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 479—80. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 2T 

i c of all forts Jhall be amerced*" : and it only 
mentions villains, freemen, (though probably not 
in the modern fenfe), merchants, barons, earls, and 
men of the church. Another order of men is al- 
luded to rather than mentioned, during the lame 
feffion y whom we mail find, in afcer times, rifing 
to great importance, from their numbers and opu- 
lence. And a woollen manufacture, having al- 
ready increafed to that Stage of it when frauds 
begin, was regulated by the act f, which required, 
cc There Jhall be but one meafure throughout Iks 
<c realm." 

Yet, this manufacture continued inconfiderable, 
during the warlike reign of Edward I. and the 
turbulent administration of his immediate fuccef- 
for, if we may judge from the vaft exportations of 
wool. 

The year 1 33 1 marks the firft arrival of Wal- 
loon manufadturers, when Edward I IT. wifely de- 
termined to invite foreigners into England J, to 
instruct his Subjects in the ufeful arts. As early 
as the Parliament of 1337, it was enacted, That 
no wool mould be exported ; that no one Should 
wear any but En glim cloth ; that no clothes made 
beyond Seas Should be imported ; that foreign 
clothworkers might come into the king's domi- 
nions, and Should have fuch franchifes as might 

* 9 Henry III. ch. 14, 
f 9 Henry III. ch. 25. 
X And. Chron. Ac. of Com. v. i. p. 162. 

C 3 Suffice 



1% AN ESTIMATE OP 

fuffiee them. This may be confidered as one of 
the firft ftatutes, which gave commercial efficacy 
to the mercantile fyftem. 

Before this time > fays De Wit*, when the tu- 
mults of the manufacturers in Flanders obliged 
them to feek fheiter in other countries, the Englith, 
were little more than fhepherds and wool- fellers. 
From this epoch, manufactures became often the 
objects of leglflation, and the fpirit of induftry will 
be found to have promoted greatly the ftate of 
population, and to have augmented considerably 
the opulence of all ranks of men. 

The ftatutes of labourers of 1349 and 1350 
demonftrate, that a confiderable change had taken 
place in the condition and purfuits of the moft 
numerous claiTes. During feveral reigns after 
the Conquer!, men laboured, becaufe they were 
fiaves. For fome years before thefe regulations of 
the price of work, men were engaged to labour, 
from a fenfe of their own freedom, and of their 
own wants. It was the ftatutes of labourers f, 
which, adding the compulfion of law to the calls 
of -neceffity, created oppreffion for ages, while they 
ought to have given relief. It is extremely difficult 
to afcertain the time when villainage ceafed in Eng- 

* Intereft of Holland. 

f See the 12th Richard II. ch. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9. By thefe, 
r.o artificer, labourer, fervant, or victualler, fhall depart from 
one hundred to another, without licence under the kings feal. 
Thefe laws, fays Anderfon, are fufficient proofs of the fiavifli 
condition of the common fervants in thofe times (1588). 

land, 



/ 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 23 

land, or even to trace its decline. The Edwards, 
during the prefTure of their foreign conquefts, 
certainly manumitted many of their villains for 
money. Owing to the previous fewnefs of inha- 
bitants, the numerous armies, which for almoft a 
century defolated the nation amidft our civil wars, 
mud have been neceffarily compofed of the lower 
ranks : and we may reafonably fuppofe, that the 
men, who had been brought from the drudgeries 
of flavery to contend as foldiers, for the honour of 
nobles and the rights of kings, would not readily 
relinquish the honourable fword for the meaner 
ploughfhare. The church, even in the darkeft 
ages, laudably remonftrated againfl the unchriitian 
practice of holding fellow- men in bondage. The 
courts of juftice did not willingly enforce the 
mailer's claim to the fervitude of his villains, till, 
in the progrefs of knowledge, intereft difcovered, 
that the purchafed labour of freemen was more 
productive than the liftlefs and ignoble toil of 
flaves. Owing to thofe caufes, there were cer- 
tainly few villains in England at the accefiion of 
Henry VII.* 5 and the great body of the people, 
having thus gained greater freedom, and with it 
greater comfort, henceforth acquired the nume- 

* The ftatute of 23 Flenry VT. chap. 12. mentions only 
fervants, artificers, workmen, and labourers; and there is a 
diftindtion made between hufbandiy fervants and domeitic 
fervants. Yet villains are fpoken of, even in our courts of 
juftice, though feldom, as late as the time of James I. 

C 4 rous 



%4 AN ESTIMATE OF 

rous bleffings, which every where refuic from ail 
orderly adminiftration of eftabiimed government. 

Duting almoft a century, before the acceffion of 
Henry VII. in 1485, the manufacturers of wool, 
with their attendant artificers, had fixed the feats of 
their incluftry in every county in England. The 
principle of the act of navigation had been intro- 
duced into our legiflation as early as 1381, by 
the law declaring*', cc That none of the king's 
cc fubjects fhall carry forth, or bring in merchan- 
fC dizes, but only in fhips of the king's allegiance/' 
•The fifheries too had been encouraged f. Agri- 
culture had been moreover promoted, by the law 
which declared J, "That all the king's Subjects 
<c may carry corn out of the realm when they 

will." And guilds 3 fraternities, and other compctr 
flies, having foon after their creation impofed mo- 
nopolizing reftraints, were corrected by a law of 
Henry VI. §; though our legislators were not very 
{ready, during an unenlightened age, in the appli- 
cation of fo wife a policy. 

In reading the laws of Edward IV. we think 
ourfelves in modern times, when the fpirit of the 
mercantile fyftem was in its full vigour, before it 
had been fo perfpicuoufly explained and fo ably 

* 5 Richard II. ch. 3,-6 Richard, ch. 8. 

,f By 6 Richard II. ch. 11, 12. 

I 17 Richard II. ch. 7. • - 

§ 15 Hen. VI. ch. 6. 



exploded. 



THE iT-RZNG TH OF G. BRITAIN. 

exploded*. It is however in the laws f of Ri- 
phard III. that we fee more clearly the commercial 
ftate of England;, during the long period, wherein 
the Englifti people were unhappily too much en- 
gaged in king-making. In thcje inaufpicious times 
was the trade of England chiefly carried on by Ita- 
lians, at leaft by merchants from the mores of the 
Mediterranean. The manufacturers w r ere com- 
pofed moftly of Flemings, who, under the encou- 
ragement of Edward III. had fled from the diftrac- 
rions of the Netherlands, for repofe and employ- 
ment in England. And, the preamble of one of 
Richard's laws J, will furnifh a convincing proof 
phat their numbers had given great difcon tent to 
the Englifh people : cc Moreover, a great number 
cf of artificers and other Grangers, not born under 
<f the king's obeifance, do daily refort to London, 
" and to other cities, boroughs, and towns, and 
<( much more than they w^ere wont to do in times 
iC pail, and inhabit by themfelves in this realm, 
ff with their wives, children, and houfehold ; and 
<c will not take upon them any laborious occupa- 
u tion, as going to plough and cart, and other like 
" bufinefs, but ufe the making of cloth, and other 
:f handicrafts and eafy occupations j and bring from 

* By Dr. Smith's E% cn the Wealth of Nations, 

t J Richard III. ch. 6, 8,9, 11, 12, 13. 

t f Richard III. ch. 9. But Henry VII. ufm the fuppli- 
caiion of the halm merchants, repealed the greater part of this 
law, which impofed retfraints on aliens \ yet retained the for- 
feitures incurred, ia the true foirit of his avaricious govern- 
ments • ' 

€: the 



a6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

* c the parts beyond the Tea great iubftance of wares 
" and merchandizes to fairs and markets, and other^ 
* c places, at their pleafure, to the impoverishment 
" of the king's fubjecb ; and will only take into 
cc their fervice people born in their own countries ; 
<c whereby the king's fubjects, for lack of occupa- 
t£ tion, fall into idlenefs and vicious living, to the 
" great perturbance of the realm."— All this was 
directed otherwife by Henry VII. though probably 
without much fuccefs, <c upon the petition made of 
<c the Commons of England." In the prefent 
times, it is perhaps the wifeft policy, neither to en- 
courage foreigners to come, nor to drive them away. 

When manufacturers have been thoroughly fet- 
tled, nothing more is wanting to promote the 
wealth and populoufnefs of a country from their 
labour, than the protection of their property and 
freedom; by the impartial adminiflration of juf- 
tice; while their frauds are repreffed, and their 
combinations prevented, by doing equal right to 
every order in the ftate. 

The policy of Henry VII. has been praifed by 
hiftorians fully equal to its worth. Anderfon re- 
lates *, that this prince, " finding the woollen ma- 
c< nufa&ures declining, drew over fome of the bed 
" Netherland clothmakers, as Edward III. had 
* s done 150 years before." This is probably faid 
without authority; fince the law of the preceding 
reign, concurring with the temper of the times, did 

* Chron. A'cc. of Com. v. i. p. 306. 



not 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 27 

not permit the eafy execution of fo unpopular a 
meafure. Henry VII. like his two immediate 
predecefTors, turned the attention of the Parlia- 
ment to agriculture and manufacture, to commerce 
and navigation, becaufe he found the current of 
the national fpirit already running toward all thefe 
falutary objects: hence, fays Lord Bacon*, it was 
no hard matter to difpofe and affect the Parliament 
in this bufinefs. And the legiflature enacted a 
variety of laws, which that illuftrious hiftorian ex- 
plains, with his ufual perfpicuity f ; a ^ tending* 
fays he, in their wife policy, towards the population 
apparently } and the military forces of the realm cer- 
tainly. 

That monarch's meafures for breaking the op- 
preffive power of the nobles; for facilitating the 
alienation of lands; for keeping within reasonable 
hounds the bye-laws of corporations ; and, above all, 
for fuppreffing the numerous bodies of men, who 
were then retained in the fervice of the great; all 
thefe deferve the higheft commendation, becaufe 
they were attended with effects, as lafting as they 
were efficacious. 

It may be however doubted, whether his pid- 
dling hufoandry of petty farms, which has been 
oftentatioufly praifed by Doctor Price, can pro- 
duce a fufficiency of food for a manufacturing 
country, or even prevent the too frequent returns 

* Hiftory of Henry VI L 

f Hiilory in Kennet, v. L p. 504. — 7. 

Of 



$3 AN ESTIMATE 

of famine. Agriculture mud be practifed as a 
trade, before it can fupply fuperabundance. Cer- 
tain it is that till the reign of Henry VIII. we 
Iiad in England no carrots, turnips, cabbages, nor 
lallads j and few of the fruits, which at prefent or- 
nament our gardens, and exhilarate our tables. 

The fpirit of improvement, however, which had 
taken deep root, before the accefilon of Henry 
VIII. continued to fend forth vigorous fhoots, 
during his reign. This we might infer from the 
frequent proclamations againft the practice of in- 
clofing, which was faid to create a decay of huf- 
bandry. On the other hand, a ltatute was enacted 
to enforce the fowing of flax- feed and hemp. The 
nation is reprefented to have been over -run by foreign 
rnanufatlurers, whofe fuperior diligence and ce co- 
il o my occafioned popular tumults. While the 
kingdom was gradually filling with people, it was 
the yearly practice to grant money to repair towns, 
which were fuppofed to be falling into ruins. Yet, 
the numerous laws, that were enacted by the Par- 
liaments of Henry VIII. for the paving of flreets, 
in various cities and villages, prove how much in- 
dufcry had gained ground of idlenefs ; how much 
opulence began to prevail over penury; and how 
far a delire of comfort had fucceeded to the lan- 
gours of floth; Thus much might indeed be dis- 
covered, from the numerous lavys, which v/ere, 
during this period, palled, for giving a monopoly of 

f And. Qhron. Com. v. i,p. 338, 

manufacture 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 2$ 

manufacture to different towns ; and which prove, 
that a great activity prevailed, by the frequent de- 
fire of felfilh enjoyment, contrary to the real inte- 
reft of the tradefmen thernfelves. 

The ftatute, however, which limited the intereft 
of money to i o per cent, demonftrates, that much 
ready money had not yet been brought into the 
coffers of lenders ; while a great number of bor- 
rowers defired to augment their wealth, by em- 
ploying the money of others in the operations of 
trade. The kings of England, both before and 
after this epoch, borrowed large fums in Genoa, 
and the Netherlands. A parliamentary debate of 
the year 1523 exhibits a lively picture of the opi- 
nions, that were at this time entertained, as to tir- 
dilation, which, in modern times, has fo great an 
effect on the ftrength of nations. A fupply of 
eight hundred thoufand pounds being aflced by 
Cardinal Wolfey for the French war, Sir Tho- 
mas More, the Speaker of the Commons, endea- 
voured to convince the Houfe, That it was not much, 
en this occajion, to pay four Jhillings in the pound. 
But to this the Commons objected, That though 
true it was lbme perfons were well monied, yet, 
in general, the fifth part of mens' goods was not 
in plate or money, but in flock or cattle and that 
to pay away all their coin would alter the whole 
intercourfe of things, and there would be a flop 
in all traffick; and confequently the Ihipping of 
the kingdom would decay. To this grave objec- 
tion, it was however gravely anfwered, That the 

money 



jO Ait ESTIMATE 6 F 

money ought not to be accounted as loft, or taker* 
away, but only as transferred into other hands of 
their kindred or nation; fo that no more was 
about to be done than we fee ordinarily in mar- 
kets, where, though the money change matters, 
yet every one is accommodated. Nor need you 
fear this fcarcenefs of money ; the intercourfe of 
things being fo eftablifhed throughout the world, 
that there is a perpetual circulation of all that can be 
necejfary to mankind. Thus your commodities will 
ever find out money 5 while our own merchants 
will be as glad of your corn and cattle, as you can 
be of any diing they can bring you % 

Such is the argument of Sir Thomas More 3 
who has thus left a proof to pofterity of how 
much he knew, with regard to modern ceconomy> 
without the aid of modern experience. No one at 
prefent can more clearly explain the marvellous 
accommodation of money, when quickly pafTed 
from hand to hand, or the great facility in raifing 
public fupplies, when every one can eafily con- 
vert his property, either fixed or moveable, into 
the metals, which are the commodious meafure 
of all things. And this is circulation, of which we 
mall hearfo much in later times ; and which creates 
fo momentous a ftrength, when it exitts in full 
vigour;, yet leaves, when it difappears, fo great a 
debility. 

f Lord Herbert's HirTory of Henry VIII. in Kennet, v. ii. 

P- 55- 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 3 1 

But the fuppreffion of monaiteries, and the re- 
formation of religion, are the meafures of Henry 
VI 1 1. '3 reign, which were attended with confe- 
quences the mofh happy and die mort Ming, 
Fifty thoufand perfons are faid to have been main- 
tained in the convents of England and Wales, who 
were thus forced into the active employments of 
life. And a hundred and fifty thoufand perfons 
are equally fuppofed to have been reftrained from 
marriage*, which can alone produce effective 
population. 

While the numbers of our people were thus 
augmented from various fources, Edward VI. is 
faid to have brought over, in 1549, many thousands 
of foreign manufacturers, who greatly improved 
our own fabricks of various kinds. Yet, they 
were not invited into a country, where the lower 
orders were even then very free, or very happy. 
The act f for the punijhment of vagabonds and th& 
relief of the poor, recites, cc Forafmuch as idlenefs 
" and vagabondrie is the mother of all thefts and 
f< other mifchiefs, and the multitude of people 
u given thereto has been always here, within this 
M kingdom, very great, and more in number than 
<: in other regions, to the great impoverifhment of 
" the realm." This law therefore enacted, That 
if any perfon fhall bring before two juftices any 
runagate fervant, or any other which liveth idly 

* And. Chron. Com. v. i. p. 368. 
f 1 Edward VI. ch. 3.. 

* and 



AN ESTIMATE OF 

and lokeringly by the fpace of three days, the fame 
juftices mall caufe the fai'd idle and loitering fer- 
vant or vagabond to be marked on the brealt 
with the mark of V by a hot iron, and mall ad- 
judge him to be a Jlave to the perfon who brought 
him, and who may caufe him to work, by beating, 
chaining, or otherwife. The unenlightened makers' 
of this difgraceful act of legiflation became foon 
fo afhamed, as to repeal the law, which they 
ought to have never made. And were it not, that 
it mews the condition of the country, and the 
modes of thinking of the higher orders, in 1 547, 
it might, without much lofs, be expunged from 
the ftatute book. 

But the legiflators of this reign were more happy 
in fome other of their laws. They reftored the 
ftatute of treafons of Edward III. ; they encou- 
raged the flmeries to Iceland, to Newfoundland, 
and to Ireland. They inflicted penalties on the' 
fellers of victuals, who were not content with rea- 
fonable profit, and on artificers and labourers, con- 
fpiring the time and manner of their work. As 
" great inconveniencies, not Meet to be rehearfed, had 
€C followed of compelled chajlity" all pofitive laws 
againff. the marriage of priefls were repealed* 
Manufactures were encouraged, partly by pro- 
curing the materials at the cheapefl rate, but ftill 
more by preventing frauds. And agriculture was 
promoted by means of inclofing, which is faid to 
have given rife to Ket's rebellion in 1549. This 
event alone fufficiently proves., that the people 

had 



TH£ STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN - . 

had considerably increafed, but had not yet applied 
fteadily to labour. 

While the abfurd practice Continued, during the 
reign of Mary, of promoting manufactures by 
monopoly, inftead of competition, one law alone 
appears to have been attended with effects, conti- 
nual and falutary. It is the act* cc for the mend- 
* c ing of highways;" being now, fays the law* 
t% ~ both very noifome and tedious to travel in, and 
cc dangerous to paffengers and carriages- 3 ' The 
firft effort of Englifh legiflation, on a fubject fo 
much connected with the profperity of every peo- 
ple, is the act of Edward I. for enlarging the 
breadth of highv/ays from one market town to 
another. This law, which was enacted in 1285, 
was however intended rather to prevent robbery, 
than to promote facility in travelling. The roads 
of particular diftricts were amended by feveral laws 
of Henry VIII. But this act of Philip and Mary is 
the firft general law, which obliged every pariflb, by 
four days labour of its people, to repair its 
own roads. The reign of Charles II. merits the 
praife of having firft eftablifhed turnpikes 3 where-* 
by thofe, who enjoy the benefits of eafy convey- 
ance, contribute the neceffary expence. Yet* 
when Cowley retired from the hum of men to 
Chertfey, in 1665, ne thence invited Sprat to en- 
joy the pleasures of St. Anne's Hill, by telling 
him, that he might fleep the firft night at Hampton 

f 2 & 3 Philip and Mary, eh, 8, 

D Town l 



34 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Town: A poet of the prefent day would invite 

his friend at London, by faying, that he might eafily 
ftep into the coach , and come down to breakfqft. Even 
in the fubfequent age, when Sir Francis Wrong- 
head was chofen into Parliament, we hear of much 
preparation for his journey to town, and of many 
accidents by the way, owing to the badnefs of the 
roads : A parliament-man, at prefent, fends to the 
next ftage for pofi-horfes, when there is a call of 
the houfe, and arrives in Weftminfter from any 
diilance, at any hour. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 2$ 



C H A P, III. 

The State cf England at the Acceffion of Elizabeth. — * 
Her Laws.— The Numbers cf People, during her 
Reign.— Her Strength. -The Policy and Powir cf 
the two fubfequent Reigns,- — The State of Zrgla. J 
at the Reftoration.—The Number cf People at the 
Revolution. — Rtfletliofis. 

TTJ E F O R E the commencement of the cele- 
J3 brated reign of Elizabeth, a confiderabie 
change had doubtlefs taken place in our policy, 
and in the numbers of our people. Agriculture, 
manufacture:, fifheries, commerce, dlftanf voyages, 
had all been begun, and made fome piogrefs, from 
the fpirit that had already been incited. Yet, fo 
iktle opulence had been hitherto accumulated, by 
the people of England, tnat me was, on her ac- 
cefllon, obliged to borrow feveral very fmall fums 
of money in Flanders, which had grown rich by 
its induftry. From chat epoch, however, England 
profpered greatly during the domeftic tranquillity 
of a steady government, through half a century, as 
well as after wards, from the example of ceconomy 
and prudence, of activity and vigour, which Eliza- 
beth, on all occafions, fet before her fubjecls. 
The act of Elizabeth * containing orders for 



* 5 Eliz. ch. 4. 
D % 



3& AN ESTIMATE OF 

artificers, labourers, fervants of hufhandry, and ap- 
prentices, merits consideration ; becaufe we may 
learn from it the ftate of the country. Villains, 
we fee, from this enumeration, had ceafed, before 
1562, to be objecls of legiflation. And we may 
perceive from the recital, C5 That the wages and 
cc allowances, rated in former ftatutes, are in divers 
<c places too fmall, and not anjwerable to this time, 
5f refpecting the advancement of all things, belonging 
<: to the faid fervants and labourers/' — a favour- 
able change had taken place in the fortunes of this 
numerous clafs. This law, as far as it requires 
apprentice fhips, ought to be repealed; becaufe its 
tendency is to abridge the liberty of the fubjecl:, 
and to prevent competition among workmen. 

The fame obfervation may be applied to the 
act " ao-ainft the erecting of cottages *." If we 
may credit the afTertion of the legiflature, fC great 
(C multitudes of cottages were daily more and more 
" increafing, in many parts of this realm." This 
ftatement evinces an augmentation of people : 
yet, the execution of ftich regulations, as this law 
contains, by no means promotes the ufeful race of 
hufbandry fervants. 

The principle of the poor laws, which may be 
faid to have originated in this reign, as far as it 
neceffafily confines the labourer to the place of his 
birth, is at once defiructive of freedom, and of the 
true intereils of a manufacturing community, that 

* 13 Eliz. ch. 7, 

cm 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. "J 

can alone be effectually promoted by competition - 3 
which hinders the rife of wages among; workmen, 

DO ■» 

and promotes at once the goodnefs and cheapnefs 
of the manufacture. 

A few falutary laws were doubtlefs made during 
the reign of Elizabeth. But her legiflation will 
be found not to merit generally much praife. 
Her acts for encouraging manufactures by mono- 
poly i for promoting trade by prohibition ; and for 
aiding husbandry, by preventing the export of 
corn, alone juftify this remark. Her regulations, 
for puniming the frauds, which arife commonly 
in manufactures when they are encouraged by mo- 
nopoly, merit commendation. 

Having thus fhewn the commencement of an 
increafing population, amidft famines and war, 
and traced a confiderable progrefs, during ages of 
healthfulnefs and quiet, it is now time to afcertain 
the precife numbers, which probably exifted in 
England towards the end of Queen Elizabeth's 
reign. 

From the documents which ftiil remain in the 
Miifeum, it is certainly known, that very accurate 
accounts were often taken of the people, by the 
intelligent minirlers of that great princefs. Har- 
rifon, who has tranfmitted an elaborate defcrip- 
tion of England, gives us the refult of the mufters 
of i SI when the number of fighting men was 
found to be — — 15172,674: 

Adding withal, that it was believed a full third 
had been omitted. Notwithftanding the greatnefs 

D 3 of 



1% AN ESTIMATE OF 

of this number, f^s Mr. Hume, the fame author 
complains much of the decay of popidoufnefs ; a vulgar 
complaint, in all ages, and places f. Sir \y alter 
Raleigh however afferts, that there was a general 
review, in 1583, of all the men in England, ca- 
pable of bearing arms, who were found to amount 
to — — 1,172,000 

Here then are two credible evidences to an im- 
portant fact: That, in 1575, or 1583, the fighting 
men of England, according to enumerations, 
amounted to — — 1^172,000 

"Winch, if multiplied by 4, would prove 

the men, women, and children to 

have been — — 4,688,000 

If by 5, would prove them to have 

keen — — 5,860,000 

• Hifl. vol. v. p. 481.— vi. p. 179. By endeavouring to 
collect every thing that could throw light on the population of 
Elizabeth's reign, -Mr. Hume has bewildered hirnielf and his 
reader. Peck has preferred a paper, which, by proving that 
there were mailers in 1575, confirms Harrifpn's account. 
[IXefid. Curiofa, v. i. p. 74.] It is a known fact, that there 
was an enume nation of the mariners, in 1582, which corre- 
fponds with Raleigh's account, [CampbePs Pol. Survey, v. 1. 
p. 161.] That there were feveral furveys, then, is a fact incon- 
trovertible ; as appears indeed from the Harl. MSS. in Brit. 
Muf. Nos. 412 and 6,839. The Privy Council having re- 
quired the .Diihops, in July 1 563, to certify the number of 
families in their feveral dioceifes, were informed minutely of 
the particulars of each. Some of the Bifhops returns may be 
feen in MSS. Harl. No. 595. Brit. Muf. From the Bifhops 
certificates, as well as from the 31 Eliz. ch. 7. it appears, 
that the words families and hcufeholds were then ufed fyno- 
sumoufly. ' " 

Without 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 39 

Without comparing minutely the numbers, 
which we have already found, in 1377, with the 
people, who thus plainly exifted in 1577, it is ap- 
parent, that there had been a vaft increafe in the 
intermediate two hundred years. Such then were 
the numbers of the fighting men, and of the in- 
habitants of England, during the reign of Eliza- 
beth: and fuch was the power, while her revenue 
was inconfiderable, wherewith that illuftrious Queen 
defended the independence of the nation, and fpread 
wide its renown*. 

But, it is the ardour, with which a people are 
infpired, more than their numbers, that conftitutes 
their real force. It was the enmity wherewith the 
armada had infpired England againfl Spain, which 
prompted the Englifh people, rather than the 

* The particular number of the commwiicanis and recu- 
fants, in each diocefe and parim of England, was certified to 
the Privy Council, by the Bilhops, in 1603. — MSS. Harl, 
Brit. Muf. No. 280. 

And the number of communicants was - 2,057,033 
Of recufants - 8,465 

In all - 2,065,498 
By the 33d Eliz. chap. 1. all perfons upwards of fixteen years 
of age were required to go to church, under the penalty of 
twenty pounds. If the 2,065,498 contained all the perfons, 
both male and female, who were thus required to frequent 
the church, this number would correfpond very well with the 
fighting men lately ftated ; and fhew the people of Englan4 
and Wales to have been between four and five millions, du- 
ring Elizabeth's reign, though approaching nearer to the laft 
number than the fir ft. 

D 4 Englifh 



4.0 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Englifh court, to aid the baftard Don Antonio to 

conquer Portugal: and twenty thoujand volunteers 
engaged in this romantic enterprize, under thofe 
famous leaders, Norris, and Drake. — An effort, 
which (hewed the manners of the age more than 
its populoufnefs, ended in difappointment, as 
might have been forefeen, if enthufiafm and rea- 
fon were not always at variance. An alarm being 
given of an invafion by the Spaniards, in 1599, 
the Queen equipped a fleet, and levied an army, 
in a fortnight, to oppofe them. Nothing, we are 
told, gave foreigners a higher idea of the power 
of England than this fudden armament. Yet, it 
is not too much to afTert, that Lancafhire alone, 
confidering its numerous manufactories, and exten- 
five commerce, is now able to make a more fteady 
exertion *, amidft modern warfare, than the whole 
kingdom in the time of Elizabeth, 

The 

* The traders of Liverpool alone £tted out, at the com- 
mencement of the late War with France, between the 26th of 
Auguft 1778 and the 17th of April 1779, a hundred and 
twenty privateers, armed each with ten to thirty guns, but 
mcflly with fourteen to twenty. From an accurate lift, con- 
taining the name and appointment of each, it appears, that 
thefe privateers meafured 30,787 tons, carrying 1,986 guns, 
and 8,754. men. The fleet fent againil the armada, in 1588, 
meafured 31,985 tons, and was navigated by 15,272 feamen. 
And, from the efforts of a fingle town we may infer, that the 
private fhips of war formed a greater force, during the war of 
the Colonies, than the nation, with all its unanimity and zeal, 
was able to equip under the potent government of Elizabeth. 
There was an enumeration, in 1581, of the mipping and 

failors 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN"* 4! 

The acceffion of James I. was an event aulpl- 
cious to the profperity and the populoufnefs of 
Great Britain. The tranquillity of the Northern 
counties of England, which it had been the object 
of fo many of Elizabeth's laws to fettle, was at 
once reftored : and the two-and-twenty years of 
uninterrupted peace, during his reign, mull have 
produced the mod falutary effect on the induftry 
of the people, while the neighbouring nations were 
engaged in warfare, though his peaceablenefs has 
caft an unmerited ridicule on the King. 

The various laws, which were paffed by this 
monarch, for fupprefling the frauds of manufac- 
turers, evince at once, that they had increafed in 
confiderable numbers, and mud have continued 
to increafe. The ads for reformation of ale- 
houfes, and reprefiing of drunkennefs, as they 
plainly proceeded from the puritanifm of the times, 
muft have promoted fobriety of manners, and at- 
tention to bufinefs. The act for the relief and 
regulation of perfons, who were infected with the 
plague, muft have had its effect, in preventing the 
frequent return of this deftructive evil. Domeftic 
induftry was doubtlefs promoted by the act againft 
monopolies: and foreign commerce was affuredly 
extended by the law, enabling all perfons to trade 
with Spain, Portugal, and France. But, above 

failors of England, which amounted to 72,450 tons, and 
14,295 mariners. To this ftatement, Doctor Campbel adds. 
That the feamen of the mips regiftered in the port of Lon- 
don, in 1732, weae 21,797. [Pol. Survey, vol. i. p. i6i.J 

all, 



£f AN ESTIMATE OP 

all, the agricultural interefts of the nation ffcre 
enfured by the aft for confirming the poiTeffioo 
of copyholders 5 and fall more, by the law for the 
general quiet of the fubject, agaiml all pretences 
of dormant claims on the lands, which had de- 
fended from remote ancdlors to the then pof- 
fcffors. Of this falutary law the principle was 
adopted, and its efficacy enforced, by a legiflative 
aft of the prefent reign. 

A cOiPparifon of the laws, which were enacted 
by the parliaments of Elizabeth, and of James, 
would leave a decided preference to the parlia- 
mentary leaders of the lafb period, both in wif- 
dom, and in patriotifm. The private acts of par- 
liament, in Elizabeth's time, were made chiefly to 
reftore the blood of thofe. who had been attainted 
by her predeceflbrs : the private afts of James 
were almoft all made for 'naturalizing foreigners* 
One of the lad parliamentary grants of this reign 
was £. 18,000 for the reparation of decaying cities 
and towns, though it is not now eafy to tell how 
the money was actually applied. 

Elizabeth had begun the practice of giving 
bounties to the builders of fuch fhips as carried 
ene hundred tons. James I. merits the praife of 
giving large furns for the encouragement of this 
mod important manufacture. And while Charles L 
patronized every ornamental art, he gave from a 
very fcanty revenue a bounty of five fhillings the 
ton for every venel of the burthen of two hun- 
dred tons. Thefe notices enable us to trace the 

fize 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 43 

fize of our merchant-fhips through a very active 
century of years. The minifters cf Elizabeth had 
ccnfidered a veffel of one hundred tons as. Suffi- 
cient for the purpofes of an inconfiderable com- 
merce : the adviiers of Charles I. were not fatis- 
fied with fo fmall a fize. It was to this wife po- 
licy, that the trading fhips of England were em- 
ployed, ere long, in protecting her rights, and 
even in extending her glory. 

The act which, in 1623, reduced the intereft of 
money to eight per cent, from ten, mews fufn- 
ciently, even agamft the preamble of it, that com- 
plains of decline, how much the nation had pros- 
pered, and was then advancing to a higher flats of 
improvement. Sucn laws can never be faftiy 
enacted till all parties, the lenders as well as the 
borrowers, are properly prepared to receive them. 
The chearfulnefs of honed Stowe led him to fee, 
and to reprefent, the Hate of England, during the 
reign of James, as it really was. He fays, as 
Camden had faid before him in 158c, that it 
would in time be incredible, were there not due 
mention made of it, what great increafe there is, 
within thefe few years, of commerce and wealth 
throughout the kingdom ; of the great building 
of royal and mercantile fhips ; of the repeopling of 
pities, towns, and villages ; befide the fudden aug- 
mentation of fair and eofHy buildings. The great 
meafure of the reign of King James, which was 
p] oductive of effects, lafiing and unhappy, v/as the 
Settlement of colonies beyond the Atlantic. 

Lord 



44 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Lord Clarendon exhibics a picture equally flat- 
tering, of the condition of England, during the 
peaceful years of Charles I. And the reprefenta- 
tion of this great hiftorian is altogether confiftent 
with probability, and experience. The vigorous 
ipirit, which Elizabeth had bequeathed to her 
people, continued to operate, long after fhe had 
ceafed to delight them by her prefence, or to pro- 
tect them by her wifdom. The laws of former 
iegiflators produced fuccefiively their tardy effects. 
And it ought to be remembered, that neither dis- 
putes among the great, parliamentary altercations, 
nor even civil contefts, till they proceed the length 
of tumult, and bloodlhed, ever produce any bad 
confequences to the induftry, or comfort^ of the 
governed. 

The civil wars, which began in T640, unhappy 
as they were while they continued, both to king 
and people, produced in the end the moft lalu- 
tary influences, by bringing the higher and lower 
ranks ciofer together, and by continuing in ail a 
vigour of defign, and activity of practice, that in 
prior ages had no example. . 

One of the flrfb confequences of real hbftilities 
was the eflablifhment of taxes, to which the peo- 
ple had feidom contributed, and which produced, 
before the conclusion of tedious warfare, the enor-r 
mous flim of £.95,5 1 2,095*. The gallant fupporters 

of 

* Stevens's Hilt, of Taxes, p. 296. But Stevens includes 
the fates of con*ifcated iands, compactions for eiiates, and 
fuch other more opprefSve modes of railing money. There 

wers 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN*. 4_J 

of Charles I. gave the fovereign, whom they loved, 
amidft his diftrefles, large fums of money, while 
conrifcations left them any thing to give. Here, 
then, were the mines of Potoii opene^d in Eng- 
land. The opulence, which induftry had been 
collecting for ages, was now brought into action, 
by the arts of the tax-gatherer : and the country- 
gentlemen, who had long complained of a Jcarcity 
of money, contributed greatly, by unlocking their 
coffers, to remove the evil, that they had them- 
felves created by hoarding. 

One of the firft effects of civil commotion was 
the placing of private money in the fhops of gold- 
fmirhs, for its better fecurity, and for the advan- 
tage of the intereft, which, at the commencement 
of banking, was allowed the proprietors. By fa- 
cilitating the ready transfer of property, and the 
eafy payment of private debts, as well as public 
impofts, banking may be regarded as the fruitful 
mother of circulation. The collecting of taxes, 
and the fubfequent expenditure, raifed ere long 
the price of all things. Owing to thofe caufes 
chiefly, the legal intereft of money was reduced, 
in 165 1, to fix per cent. And the reduction of 
intereft is at once a proof of previous acquifition, 
and a means of future profperity. 

'the Reftoration of Charles II. induced the peo- 
ple to transfer the energy, which they had exerted 

were collected, by excifes only, £, 10,200,000 and by tonnage 
and poundage £.5,700,000. 

* during 



4 5 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



during twenty years hoffiiities, to the various ope- 
rations of peace. The feveral manufactories., and 
new productions of husbandry, that were intro- 
duced from foreign countries, before the Revolu- 
tion, not only formed a new epoch, but evince a 
vigorous application to the ufeful arts, in the in- 
termediate period. The common highways were 
enlarged and repaired, while turnpikes were placed 
on the great Northern road, in the counties of 
Hertford, Huntingdon, and Cambridge. Rivers 
were deepened for the purpofes of internal con- 
veyance by water. The acts of navigation cre- 
ated fhip-carpenters and failors, though thefe fa- 
lutary laws were long complained of,, as deftructive 
to commerce. Foreign trade was increafed by 
opening new markets, and by withdrawing the 
alien duties, which had always obftructed the vent 
of native manufactures. Thofe meafures alone, 
that made internal communications at once eafy 
and fafe, would have promoted the proiperity, 
and the population of any country. 

But, above all, the change of manners, and the 
intermixture of the higher and middle ranks, by 
marriages, induced the gentry, and even the 
younger branches of the nobility : to bind their fens 
apprentices to merchants, and thereby to enoble 
a profefiion, that was before only gainful ; to in- 
vigorate traffic by their greater capitals, and to 
extend its operations by their fuperior knowledge. 
Hence, Child, Petty, and Davenant, agreed in 

afferting, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN* %f 

a!Te rting*, in opposition to the party writers of the 
times, that the commerce and riches of England 
did never, in any former age, encreafe fo fail as in 
the bbly period from the Reparation to the Re- 
volution. 

Yet, in 1680, was publifhed Britannia Lm- 
guens ; in order to prove that, in the fame pe- 
riod 5 a kind of common .confumption bath crowded 
upon us. 

The truth of their conciunon is, however, 
proved more fatisfactorily by the following detail, 
than by any* document, which has been yet fub~ 
mitted to the public. It Is an authentic account 
of the CuftjOMSi which were collected in England, 
and which, as they more than doubled in the 
period from the Reparation to the Revolution, 
fhew clearly, that the trade of England profpered, 
in the mean time, nearly in the fame proportion. 
There was an additional duty on wines impofedj, 
in 1672, and an import on wine, tobacco, and 

* The Board of Trade reprefented in December 1697: 
We have made inquiry into the ftate of trade in general, 
** from the year 1670 to the prefent time : and from the befi; 
<* calculations we can make, by the duties paid at the Curio m- 
*' houfe, we are of opinion, that trade in general did confj- 
P derahly increafe, from the end g£ the Dutch war in 1673, t© 
** 1689, when the late war began.'" Yet, the Board feem not 
to have attended to the 25 Cha« XI. ch. 6; which wifely 
enacted, That Dsnizens and Aliens mould pay no more taxes 
for the native commodities of this kingdom, or for Jifb caught 
in Englijb mipsj when exported^ than fubjefts, 

z linen, 



4$ AN ESTIMATE OF 

linen, in 1685 : But, as thefe duties were kept 
feparate, they appear neither to have fwelled, nor 
dirninifhed, the ufual receipt of the cuftom-houfe 
duties, in any of the years, either of peace, or of 



An 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 49 

An Account of the Cuftoms,. which were received 
in the following Years of Peace, and of War : 

Nenv additional 



Tears. 




Duty cf Cuftoms. 




Wines. 


From 24th Tulv 1660, 


f. s. 


d. 




s t 




to 29th beptember 


i65i 


1 1 I . C 9>7. 7 


I j 






The year ended 














29th September - 


1662 


414,946 I5 










Ditto, 


1663 


s2C,4.IC 14. 
- 79,662 I I 


4. 

T 








Ditto, 


1654 


3 

4 








Ditto, 


1665 


> IC 072 A. 


2 








Ditto, 


i656 


jO~,~ 66 10 


1 4- 








Ditto, 


1667 


/LOS.'3 2't — 










The year ended 












Michaelmas 


i653 


626 00S c 










Ditto, 


1 66 9 


cio. "72 in 


2 T 








Ditto, 


1670 


C I 6.22Q I O 


7I 
/ a 








Ditto, 


1671 




A~ 








Ditto, 


1672 




6i 


148,959 


2 


6i 
w i 


Ditto, 


1673 


507,763 6 
636,132 10 


6 


165,622 


1 


Ditto, 


1674 




127,443 


l6 


C-5. 
5 + 


Ditto, 


1675 


674,133 16 


1 

i 


I22,C0I 




4+ 


Ditto, 


1676 


650,878 7 


1 


I5C692 


I 


5t 


Ditto, 


1677 


677,626 15 


2 I 


!49,770 


19 




Ditto, 


1678 


646,325 12 


6} 


126,126 


16 




t)itto, 


1679 


592,762 11 


7| 


96,639 


I 


I 


Ditto, 


i63o 


633,562 8 


4 


156,132 






Ditto, 


1681 


621,615 12 




90,222 


7 




Ditto, 


1682 


742,721 2 




221 


9 


7* 


Ditto, 


1683 


768,166 9 


*; 








Ditto, 


1684 


780,660 19 


3* 


I 


H 


4 


Ditto, 


i63c 


701,504 3 


4 

8| 






Ditto, 


16861780,679 14 








Ditto, 


1687 


884,955 — 


3^ 








Ditto, 


i638 


78i,9S7 * 


94 









From the before-mentioned circumftances, and 
facts, which prove, that there had been many ad- 
ditional employ ments, we may reafonably infer, 

E that 



50 AN ESTIMATE OF 

that there had alfo been a confiderable augmenta- 
tion of inhabitants, who were the more important: 
to the fiate, becaufe they were the moft induftri- 
ous. But many emigrated, it has been faid, to 
the colonies, and many perifned by peftilence. 
Yet, the Lord Chief Juftice Hale infifts, « That 
€C mankind hath ftili increafed, even to manifeft 
€C fenfe and experience:" and becaufe, fays he, this 
is' an afTertion of fact, it is Impoffibte to be made 
out, but by inftances of fact. If hov/ever, he adds, 
we fliould inftitute a comparifon between the 
prefent time (1670), and the beginning of Queen 
Elizabeth's reign (1558), and compare the num- 
ber of trained foldiers then and now, the number 
of fubfidy men then and now, they will eafily give 
an account of a very great increafe of people 
within this kingdom, even to admiration *. 

A mere 

* See Lord Hale's convincing argument in The Origination 
of Mankind c'onfidered, ch. 10. Sir John Dalrymple found, in 
King William's cabinet,-a minute account of the number of 
freeholders in England, which was taken by order of that mo- 
narch, in order to find Out the proportion between church- 
men, dilienters, and papifls ; and which Sir John has pub- 
Kftied in the Appendix to his Memoirs : 

Conformifts- Non Con. Papifts. 

in Canterbury and York - 2,4,77,254 108,676 13,856 
Contrafi: with thefe the be- 
• fore-mentioned commu- 
nicants and recufants, in 

j 603 — — 2,057,033 — S465. 

/This comparifon, after allowing for the original inaccura- 
cies 



THE STRENGTH OF G. ERITAiN, $1 

A mere queftion of fact, with regard to the 
number of births, at any two diftant periods, may 
doubtlefs be either confirmed, or difprove.d, by an 
appeal to the parifh regifters ; which, containing a 
collection of facts, may be regarded as one of the 
bed proofs, that the nature of the enquiry admits. 
And the Lord Chief Juftice Hale remarked of 
them, becaufe he was (truck with the force of 
their evidence, That they gave a greater demonftra- 
tion of the gradual increafe of mankind> than a hun- 
dred notional arguments can either evince or confute. 
For, a greater number of births, in any one period 
more than at any prior epoch, muft proceed from 
a greater number of breeders ; which denotes a 
more numerous population. And, from an atten- 
tive examination of fuch proofs, Graunt pro- 
ceeded*, in 1662, to mew, with great ability, the 
progreffive increafe of the people, and to prove 
how eafily the country could fupply the capital 

cies of both accounts, {hews a great change in the numbers, 
in the opinions, and practice of the people, from 1603 to 
1689. 

* See The Obfervations on the Bills of Mortality. Doctor 
Price has quoted Tindal, for the fact, That there appeared, by 
the hearth-books of 1665, in England and Wales, 

1,230,000 houfes. 
The acknowledged number in 1690 — 1,300,000 

This, if we may credit Tindal, is fufficient evidence of a 
rapid increafe in no long period, Grannt calculated the peo= 
pie of England and Wales, in 1662, at 6440,000 perfons. 

E 2 with 



£2 Att- ESTIMATE OF 

with numerous recruits, without any fenfible dimi- 
nution. 

Having thus traced a gradual progrefs in popu- 
lation, it is now time to afcertain the precife num- 
bers at the Revolution. And Gregory King, who 
has been praifed by Davenant for his refearch and 
his fkilfulnefs, has left us documents, from which 
we may form an eftimate fufnciently accurate for 
the ufes of hiftory, or the purpofes of legiflation. 
From an infpeclion of the hearth-books, and the 
afTeflmetits on marriages, births, and burials, King 
formed calculations of the numbers of families, 
houfes, and people; which, according to Dave- 
nant, " were perhaps more to be relied upon, than 
" any thing that had been ever done of the like 
« kind." 

It had been the fafhion of the preceding age fo 
Hate the numbers of mankind, in every country, 
too high: from this period ingenious men were 
carried away by a reprehenfible felf-fufHciency to 
calculate them too low. Of the ftatements of 
King, it was remarked by Mr. Robert Harley*, 
in 1697, fc Thefe arTeffments are no good founda- 

tion ; heads at a medium being (according to the 
cc computation) per houfe in London only five : 
iC omiffions in the country are probably greater 
<c than in London, becaufe numbering the people 
sc is there more terrible. The polls are inftances : 
*' families of feven or eight perfons, being not 

* Harl. MSS. in the Mufeum, Nos. 6,837—7,021. 

<f numbered 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 53 

c * numbered at above three or four perfons in fome 
(C remote counties." Yet, by thus calculating 4^, 
inftead of 5, in every family, which was (till con- 
fidered as fynonymous with houfehold y this would 
demonftrate an increafe of a million, during the 
foregoing century. So our poets ufed the word 
houjehold to fignify a family living together : Thus, 
Shakspeare : — 

*' Two bwfeholds, both alike in dignity. 
In fair Verona, where we lay our fcene, 
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny.'' 

Thus, Milton : 

Of God obferv'd 
The one juft man alive, by his command, 
Should build a wond'rous ark, as thou beheldft, 
To fave himfelf and boufehold from amidft 
A world devote to univerfal wreck. 

Thus, the more flippant Swift : 

In his own church he keeps a feat, 
Says grace before and after meat ; 
And calls, without affecting airs, 
His houjehold twice a-day to prayers, 

Davenant, by publifhing only extracts from 
King's observations^ and by fpeaking confufedly 
of families and houfes, has done an injury to King, 
and to truth. All will appear confident and clear, 
when this ingenious calculator is allowed to fpeak 
for himfelf. 



54 AN ESTIMATE OF 

The number of houfes in the kingdom, as 
charged, fays he, in the books of the Hearth Office 
at Lady Day 1690, were, — 1,319,215 : 
But, whereas the chimney money being charged on 
the tenant, or inhabitant, the divided houfes ftand as 
fo many diftinct dwellings, in the accounts of the 
faid Hearth Office. And whereas the empty houfes, 
fmiths' (hops, &c. are included in the faid account, 
all which may very well amount to 1 in 36 or 37, 
(or near 3 per cent.) which, in the whole, may be 
about 36,000 houfes; it follows, that the true num- 
ber of inhabited hcitjes is not above - 1,290,000; 
which, however, we fhall call, in round 

numbers, — — 1,300,000 



Having thus adjufted the number of houfes, we 
come now, continues he, to apportion the number 
of fouls to each, according to what we have ob- 
ferved from the faid afleiTments on marriages, 
births, and burials. 

London within the "walls produced 

almoft - 5f^rhpufe, 

Sixteen parifhes without, full - 4^ 
The reft of the bills of mortality 
. almoft 

The other cities and market towns 4- 
The villages and hamlets - 4 



So, 



4i 

i. 



THE STRENGTH OF 


G. BRITAIN. 55 


So, London and 








the bills of 


Inhabited 


per houfe. 


Souls. 


mortality con- 


houfes. 




tained - 


105,000 


at 4.57 


479,600 


A lit CitlCo ciiivo. 








market towns 


195,000 


4>3 


838,500 


The villages and 








hamlets 


1,000,000 


4 


4,000,000 


In all - 


1,300,000 


4>9 


5,318,100 



But, confidering that the omiffions in the faid 
aftefTrnents may well be, 

fn London and the 
bills of morta- 
lity - - - 10 per cent, or 47^960 fouls 

In the cities and 

market towns - 1 per cent, or 16,500 

Ip. the villages and 

hamlets - 1 per cent, or 40,000 



In all 104,460 fouls 



It follows, that the true number of people, 
dwelling in the 1,300,000 inhabited houfes, mould 
be 5,422,560. 

Laflly i whereas the number of tranfitory peo- 
ple, as feamen and foldiers, may be accounted 
140,000; whereof nearly one half^ or 6o,ooo 3 
have no place in the faid affefiments : and that the 
:r of vagrants, as hawkers 5 pedlars, crate 
E 4 carriers^ 



5 6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

carriers, gipfies, thieves, and beggars, may be 
reckoned 30,0005 whereof above one half, or 
20,000, may not be taken notice of in the faid 
afTelfmeritSj making in all 80,000 perfons: It fol- 
lows, that the whole number of people in England 
and Wales is much! about 5,500,000; viz. 

In London 530,000 fouls 

In the other cities and towns - 870,000 
In the villages and hamlets - 4,100,000 



In all - - - 5,500,000 



The number of inhabited houfes 

being about - - 1,300,000 

The number of families about 1,360,000 



The people anfwer at 4! fer houfe, and 4 per 
family. 

Thus much from Gregory King's Political Ob- 
fervations *. And his itatements are doubdefs very 
curious, and even exact, though we now know; 
that the number of dwellers, which he allowed to 
every houfe, and to every family, was a good deal 
under the truth, as Mr. Robert Harley at the time 
fufpeclied. 

Subfequent inquirers have enumerated the houfes 
and the inhabitants of various villages, towns, and 
cities, inftead of relying on the defective returns of 



* There is a very fair copy of King": Obfervations, ir 4 
MSS. Harl. Brit. Muf. No. i,^8, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 57 

tax-gatherers. Doctor Price became at length 
difpofed to admit, from the enumerations which, 
he had feen, that five perfcns and a fixth, refide in 
every houfe*. Mr. Howlet, from a ftill greater 
number of enumerations, infills f for five and two- 
fifths. It will at laft be found, perhaps J, that five 
and two-fifths are the fmalleft number, which, on 
an average of the whole kingdom, dwells in every 
houfe. 

Little doubt can furely now remain of there 
having been in England and Wales 1,300,000 in- 
habited houfes at the Revolution. Were we to 
multiply this number by five, it would demonftrate 
a population of fix millions and a half: were, we to 

* Reverfionary Payments, v. ii. p. 28 S. 
f Examination of Price, p. 145. 

I In 1773, -D r * Price infilled that there were not quite five in 
every houfe. [Obfervations on Reverfionary Payments, 3d edi- 
tion, p. 184-] In 1783, the Doctor feemed willing to allow 
pve one-fix th in every houfe: But he Hill contends, That if 
you throw out of the calculation Liverpool, Manchefter, Bir- 
mingham, and other populous towns, the number in every 
houfe ought t& be !ej r s than Jive. [Obfervations on Reverfionary 
Payments, 4th edit. v. ii. p. 2S8— 9.] The Rev. Mr. New 
made a very accurate enumeration of the parifh of St. Philip 
and St. Jacob in the city of Briltol, during the year 1 781, 
and found 1,529 inhabited houfes, and therein 9,850 fouls. 
Thefe numbers prove, that more than fix one-third dwell in 
every houfe. And from this enumeration we may infer, That 
in the full inhabited city of Briftcl, fix at leafl relide in every 
houfe. If, in the fpirit of Doctor Price, we throw out of the 
calculation all populous places, and ftudioufly collect fuch 
decaying towns as Sandwich, the proportion to every houfe 
fliuft be limited to five, 

multiply 



t 



5»8 AH ESTIMATE OF 

multiply by five and two-fifths, or even by five 
and one-fifth, this operation would carry the num- 
ber up nearly to feven millions : and fevcn millions 
were confidered by fome of the moft intelligent 
men of that day, as the whole amount of the people 
of this kingdom at the Revolution. 

But, if we take the loweft number, of fix mil- 
lions and a half, and compare it with five millions, 
the higheft number probably in 1588, this compa- 
rifon would evince an increafe of a million and a 
half in the fubfequent century, and of more than 
four millions, from 1377. Yet, Doctor Price con- 
fidered the epoch of the Reformation (15 17) as a 
period of greater population than the sra of the 
Revolution. 

In giving an account of the reign of King Wil- 
liam. Sir John Dairy mple remarks, cc That three 
and twenty regiments were completed in fix weeks. 
This is doubtlefs an adequate proof of the ardour 
pf the times, but it is a very flight evidence of an 
overflowing populoumefs. Want of employment 
often fends recruits to an army, which, in more in- 
duftrious years, would languifh without hope of 
reinforcements. We may learn, indeed, from Sir 
Jofiah Child, That it was a queftion agitated, dur- 
ing the reign of Charles II. " If we have more 
f c people now than in former ages, how came it to 
e< pafs, that in the times of Henry IV. and V. and 
€c even in prior times, we could raife fuch great 
f s armies, and employ them in foreign wars, and 
?' yet retain a fufflcient number to defend the 

^ king- 



THE STRENGTH 0£ G. BRITAIN". 59 

f* kingdom, and to cultivate our lands at home ? 
" I anfwer firft/' fays this judicious writer, <c that 
<c bignefs of armies is not a certain indication of 
* c the numeroufnels of a nation, but fometimes of 
" the government and diftribution of the lands ; 
F where the prince and lords are owners of the 
<c whole territory : although the people be thin., 
cc the armies upon occafion may be very great, as 
cc in Fez and Morocco. Secondly, princes armies 
<c in Europe are become more proportionable to 
" their purfes^ than to the numbers of their peo r 
" pie." 

Thus much it was thought proper to premife* 
with regard to the previous condition and policy of 
England, as well as its populoufnefs at different 
periods anterior to The Revolution, when thi^ 
Estimate begins. 



Chap, 



AN ESTIMATE ©F 



C H A P. IV. 

Opinions as to the Strength of Nations, — Refietlions .~ 
The real Power of England, during King William's 
Reign. — The State of the Nation. — The Lcjfes of 
her Trade from King William's Wars. — Her Com- 
merce revives. — Complaints of. Decline y amidfi her 
Profperity. — Refletlions. 

Hp HEORISTS are not agreed, in refpeft 
JL to thofe circumftances, which form the 
ftrength of nations, either actual, or comparative. 
One considers the power of a people cc to confift ir f 
their numbers and wealth." Another infifts, cc that 
the force of every community moll efTentialiy 
depends on the capacity, valour, and union of the 
leading characters of the ftate." And a third, 
adopting partly jfche fentiments of both, contends, 
c?< that though numbers and riches are fiighly im- 
portant, and the refources of war may decide a 
conteft, where other advantages are equal j yet the 
refources of war^ in hands that cannot employ 
them, are of little avail, fince manners are as eflen- 
rial, as either people or wealth." 

It is not the purpofe of this Eftimate to amufe 
the fancy with uninftructive definitions, or to be- 
wilder the judgment with verbal difputations, which 
are as unmeaning as they are unprofitable. The 

glories 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". €t 

glories of the war of 1756 have caff a continued 
ridicule on the far-famed Eftimator of the manners 
and -principles of thofe times. Recent itruggles have 
thrown equal ridicule on other calculators of an 
analogous fpirir. And we may find reafon in the 
end to conclude, that the qualities of the mind, 
either vigorous or effeminate, have undergone, in 
this ifland, no unhappy change, whatever alte- 
ration there certainly is in the labour of the hands 
of our people, from the epoch of the Revolution 
to the prefent moment. 

But, from general remark, let us defcend to 
minute investigations, with regard to the progref- 
five numbers of the people, to the extent of their 
induftry, and to the fucceflive amount of their 
traffic and accumulations ; becaufe cur refources 
arofe then, as they arife now, from the land and 
labour of this ifland alone. 

The infult offered by France to the fovereignty 
of England, by giving an afylum to an abdicated 
monarch, and by difputing the right of a high- 
minded people to regulate their own affairs, forced 
King William into an eight years war with that 
potent country, which he perfonally hated, and 
with which he ardently wilhed to quarrel. He 
had therefore no inclination to weigh in very fcru- 
pulous fcales the wealth of his fubjects againft the 
greater opulence of their rivals, who were in thofe 
days more induftrious, and were further advanced 
in the practice of manufacture, and knowledge 

of 



62 



AN ESTIMATE Of 



of traffic. Yet, the defire of that warlike mo- 
narch being feconded by the zeal of his people, 
whofe refources were not then equal to their 
bravery, he was enabled to engage in an arduous 
difpute for the mod honourable end. Happy ! 
had hoftilities ended, as foon as the independence 
of the nation was vindicated from infult, and when 
the interefts of the people required the cerTation 
of warfare. 

We may form a fufficient judgment of the 
flrength of England, at that sera, from the follow- 
ing detail : 

The number of fighting men, according to the 
calculation of Gregory King, as cited with ap- 
probation by Davenant, was 1,308,000 ; yet the 
one-fourth of the people formed the men fit for 
war, whatever may have been the real popula- 
tion of England, during the reign of King Wil- 
liam. 

The yearly income of the nation 
from its land and labour amount- 
ed, if we may credit the flatement 
of Gregory King, to - ' - £.43,500,000 

The yearly expence of the people 
for their necerTary fubfiftence - « 41,700,000 

The yearly accumulation of profit £.1,800,000 



The 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 6>j 

The value of the whole kingdom, according to 
Gregory King, £.650,000,000*5 which, forming 
the capital whence income arofe, was no proper 
fund for taxation, 

Davenant ftates, from various conjectures and cal- 
culations, the circulating money at £. 1 8,500,000 
while there yet exifted in the nation no paper- 
money, and little circulation ; which, by facilita- 
ting the eafy transfer of property, is fo favourable 
to the levying of taxes. 

King James's annual income amounted only to 
£.2,061,856. js. q\d. J; which was a greater re- 
venue than any of his predeceilbrs had ever 
enjoyed. 

Of this there remained in the exchequer, on 
the 5th of November, 168S, £.80,138 §; which 

* See Gregory King's Polit. Obferv. in MSS. HarL 
Brit. Muf. No. 1,898. 

f Gregory King having ilated the filver coin at eight 
million and a half in 1688, and the gold coin at three million, 
Mr. Robert Harley thereupon remarked, " That the mint ac- 
counts would make us believe there is more gold coin than, 
three million ; but both accounts together would make a good 
eflimate." — MSS. Harl. Brit. Muf. 1,898. The circulating 
coin may therefore be taken at eleven million and a half 
during King William's reign. It was one of the tenets of 
Doftor Price, to maintain, that We had more coins in circu- 
lation, during thofe times than at prefent. 

X Hift. of Debts, p. 6—7. 

§ For the accurate informations, which thcfe meets- convey 
from a tranfcript of the Exchequer-books in King William and 
Queen Anne's reigns, the public owe an additional obligation, 
and the compiler a kindr.efs, \q the liberal communication of 
Mr. Aftle. 

x little 



$4- AN ESTIMATE OF 

little enabled King William either to defray the 
expences of the Revolution, or to prepare for a 
war with France. 

The nett income paid into the exchequer, in 
1691, from the cuitoms and exciie, from the 
land, and from polls, amounted only to £.4, 249,7 5 7 ; 
of which there were applied towards carrying on 
the war £>2,393&34> anc ^ t0 me fupport of the 
civil eftabiifhment £ 856,123 *. 

The average of the annual fupplies during the 
war, which were raifed with difficulty from a dif- 
fatisRed people, amounted only to £.5,105,505 f; 
whence we may form an opinion of the force, 
which could then be exerted, though it muft be 
admitted, that the fame nominal fum had in thofe 
days a greater power than it had in after times. 

There w T ere borrowed by the government, at an 
intereft of feven and eight per cent, while the 
legal intereft of money was only fix, from 
the 5th of November, 16SS, to Lady-day, 
1702 - £.44,100,795; 

Of which there were mean while 

repaid - 34,034,018 ; 

Of this debt there remained due at 

Lady-day, 1702 % ~ - £.10,066,777 

So unproductive had each branch of taxes proved, 
during every year of the war, that , the revenue, 
which had exifted before it began, fell above one- 

* Mr. Aftle's Tranfcript. f Id. 

1 Id. 

half 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". 6$ 

half in five years* ; and the deficiencies appeared 
to have fwelled, before the feffion of 16965 to 
what was then deemed the enormous fum of 
£.6.000,460; which greatly enfeebled every ex- 
ertion of the government, by the advance in the 
price of all things. The annual collection of 
taxes, to the amount of two million and a half* 
in ore than had been levied on the country in pre- 
ceding times, while their foreign trade was cut oft, 
was alone fufficient to embarrafs a people, who had 
greater powers of induftry and circulation. It is 
an instructive fact, which is tranfmitted by Dave- 
riant, that imports did not then enhance the price of 
the commodity to the confumer, when in its higheft 
ftate of improvement, but fell on the grower, 
who fold the article in its rudeft condition : the 
^excife did not raife the price of malt, but lowered 
the price of barley. And this fact evinces how 
much confumption was embarralTed, and circula- 
tion obftructed, during the diftrefies of the Revo- 
lution war. 

The annual value of the furplus produce of the 
land and labour of England, which was then ex- 
ported to foreign countries, amounted only to 
£.4,086,087. Had the coins of England been 
as numerous as Davenant fuppofed them, they 
could not long have carried en a war beyond the 
limits of the empire. And the cargoes, which 
were thus fent abroad, could not, from their incon- 
iiderablenefs, have rilled a mighty void, for any 
length of years. 

* Pavenam's E/Tay on Ways and Means, 



66 AN ESTIMATE OF 

The tonnage of Englifh (hipping, which wer£ 
annually employed for the exportation of the be- 
fore-mentioned cargoes, amounted only to 190,533 
tons which, if we allow them to have been navi- 
gated at the rate of twelve mariners to every two 
hundred tons, required only 11,432 failors ; yet 
this was the principal nurfery, whence the navy 
of England could alone be manned, during the 
wars of King William. 

The following ftatement will give us ideas fnffi- 
ciently accurate of the progreffive force of the 
royal fleet : 

Tons. Sailors. 
Which in 1660 carried 62,594 - — 
in 1675 - 69,681 - 30,951 
in 1688 - 101,032 - — 
in 1695 - 112,400 - 45,000 

Such, then, was the naval force that, during 
the hoftilities of William, could be fent into the 
line againft the potent navy of France, which, in 
one bufy reign, had been created, and raifed to 
greatnefs. It was found almoft impoflible to man 
the fleet, though the admiralty were empowered 
by Parliament to lay ftricl embargoes on the mer- 
chants Ihips*. And this alone ought to give us 

a leflbn 

* Sir J. Dairy mple has publifhed a paper [Appendix 
p. 242.] in order to juftify King William from the charge— 
" of not exerting the natural ftrength of England in a fea- 
war againft France, after the battle of La- Hogue which 

proves* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. fillTAifc. 67 

ft leflbn of what importance it is to the flate to 
augment the native race of carpenters and failors 
by every poffible means. 

The great debility of England, during the war 
of the Revolution, arofe from the practice of 
hoarding in times of diftruftj which prevented cir- 
culation .; from the diforders of the coin, that greatly 
augmented the former evil, while the government 
2 filled tallies of wood for the fupplying of ipecie; 
from the inability of the people to pay taxes, 
while they could find no circulating value, either 

proves, that his minifters thought it impofnble to increafe the 
fleet; — " as not having mips enough, nor men, unlefs we flop 
even the craft- trade." There are a variety of documents in 
the Plantation-office, which demonflrate the fame pofuion. 
And fee the fubjoined comparative view of the fleets of France 
ajid of England, in 1693. 

The following " Comparifon of the French and Englifh fleets in 169?* 
forraed from lifts brought into the Houfe of Commons by Secretary 



Trenchrrd," 


Will fhew how nearly equal they were in 


force, even 


fubfequent to the victory of La Hog 


ue in the 


preceding 


year. [BibL 


Haiiey, Brit. 


Mufeum, 


No, 


, 1,398.] 










French Fleet. 


Englifh Fleet. 


Difference. 














r- — " — ~* 




At 


At 




In Build 






Ships from 


Ereft. Toulon. Total, beinj. ;ng. 


Total. 


More. Lefs. 


40 to 50 guns 


- 3 


5 


8. - 


31 


3f. 


23 0. 


50 to 60 


- 10 


4 


14. - 


7 X 


8. - 


6. 


60 to 70 


- *3 


9 


32. - 


14 3 


17. - 


15. 


70 to 80 


- J 3 


3 


16. - 


23 2 


25. . 


9 0. 


80 to go 


7 


1 


8. - 


8 6 


14. - 


6 0. 


90 to roo 


- 6 


4 


10. - 


11 


it. 


1 0. 


100 to 10a 


• 6 


1 


7* 


S 


5- - 


2. 




63 


27 


95. - 


99 


in. 


39 23. 



for 



f 



6% AN ESTIMATE OF 

for their labour or property: add to thefe y the 
turbulence of the lower orders, and the treachery 
of the great. And above all, if we may believe 
the minifters of King William *, Nobody knew one 
day what a Houfe of Commons would do the next. 

From this review of the debility of England, wc 
may with the more propriety inquire into the loffes 
of our trade, during that diftrefsful war. A mere 
confirmed commerce could not have flood fo rude 
a Ihock as our manufactures and commerce re- 
ceived, from the imbecility of friends, no lefs than 
from the vigour of foes, arm dir. a difaftrous courfe 
of hoftilities of eight years continuance. And the 
clamours, which were in the end juftly raifed 
againft the managers of the marine, were affuredly 
founded in prodigious loffes. An examination of 
the following proofs will evince this melancholy- 
truth : 

Value of 

Ships cleared ontwards. Jfoeir cargoes. 

Years. Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. £. 
l688 190,533. 95*267 — - 285,80c) — 4,086,08/ 
1696 — 91*767 — 83,024. — 174,791 — 2,729,520 

Annual lofs 98,766 — 12,243 — 111,009 — 1,356,567 

The nett revenue of the pofts in — 1688 £. 76,31$ 
D* — — ■ — 1697 58,672 f- 



Dr. Davenant took a different way to go to thjr 
fame point, becaufe he had not accefs to a better* 

* Dal. Mem. Appendix, p. 240-* 
f Mr. Aille's Tranfcript. 

Having 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 69 

Having ftated the yearly amount of the cuftoms, 
from 1688 to 1695 inclufive, he inferred from the 
annual defalcations: " So that it appears fuffi- 
<c ciently, that in general, fince this war, our trade 
<c is very much diminifhed, as by a medium of 
<c feven years the cuftoms are lefTened about 
"£,138,707. 7 j. a year." Dr. Davenant juftly 
complained of the breaches of the Act of Naviga*. 
tion, " during the flack administration of this 
cc war fo that ftrangers feem to have beaten us 
out of our own ports. For, it was obferved, that 
there were, in the port of London, 

Tons D° 
Engliih. foreign. Total, 
During the year 1695 * 65,788 < — 83,238 — 149,026 

It would be injurious to conceal, that the fame 
able author, who feems, however, 10 have fomer 

* If with the year mentioned by Davenant, we contrail the 
following years, we mail fee an aftonifhing increafe of the na- 
vigation and commerce of London. Thus, there were entered 
in this great port, 





Tons. Englifh. 


D c foreign. 


Total. 


710 


~ 7°>9«5 — 


40,280 — 


110,195 


19 


— 187,122 — 


II.468 — 


192,590 


58 


— 125,086 — 


69,060 


194,146 




— 210=656 — 


125,248 — 


335>9°4 


33 


— 277,797 — 


169,170 ■ — 


440,967 


84 


— 372-775 — 


92,043 ^ 


464,8 1 8 



The number of mips, which were regiftered in the port of 
London, in the year ending the 30th Sept. 1793, was i>886, 
carrying 378,787 tons. 

F 3 times 



7© 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



times complained without a caufe, acknowledged* 
" That perhaps no care nor wifdom in the world 
" could have fully protected our trade during this 
< c laft war with France." 

An attentive examination of the numbers of our 
fnips cleared outwards, and of the cargoes export- 
ed in them, will convince every candid mind, that 
in every war there is a point of deprefnon, in trade, 
as there is in all things, beyond which it does not 
decline 3 and from which it gradually rifes beyond 
the extent of its former greatnefs, unlefs it meet 
with additional checks. And the year 1694* 

marked, 



* The following detail, from the Plantation-office, will 
give the reader a ftill clearer view of the navigation of Eng- 
land, during the embarraftinents of the Revolution war. 



Ships cleared outwards. 
Tons D Q 
Englifh. foreign. Total. 

04,662 
3 



6 £ London, ?4#k - 59*75° - i°4> 66 
I Outports, 73,176 - 28,752 - 101,92 

Total, 118,088 -.88,502 - 206,590 



Ships entered inwards. 

Tons * D° 

Englifh. foreign. Total. 
36,512- 80,875- 117,387 
32,616- 27,876- 60,492 



69,128 - 108,751 - 177^79 
Balance of Trade, 28,61 j 



J London, 39> 6 4^ - 4 T >5 00 ? 81,148 
1 I Outports, 33»4P8 - 28,224 - 61,632 

Total, 73,056 - 6 9^7 2 4 " »4 2 >7 8 ° 

balance of Trade, 57,260 

20,040 • 1 



206,590 

76.500 - 135,972 
28,910 „ 64,068 



9>473 - 
I 35^- 

i 94,630 - 105,410* 200,040 



Of 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. J I 

marked, probably, the lowed ftate to which the 
eight years hoftilities of that difaftrous period 
beat down the national traffic. But the com- 
merce of England, which is fuftained by immenfe 
capitals, and infpired by a happy fkiil and dili- 
gence, may be aptly compared to a fpring of 
mighty powers, that always exerts its force in pro- 
portion to the weight of its compreffion ; and that 
never fails to rebound with augmented energy, when 
the preiTure is removed by the return of peace* 
It is nevertheless a fa£b equally true, that however 
the cefTation of war may give frefh ardour to our 
induftrious clafTes at home, and enable our mer- 
chants to export cargoes of unexampled extent; 
yet, there are never wanting writers, who, during 
this profperous moment, complain of the decline 
of our manufactories, and the ruin of our trade. 
It is propofed to illuftrate both thefe facts, in the 
following fheets becaufe, from the illufbration we 
may derive both intelligence, and amufernejat. 

Of the foregoing detail it ought to be obferved, that k 
does not appear in the Plantation-ofhce altogether in this 
form : the number of fhips, Englifh and foreign, entered ei- 
ther in London and the outports, is only fpecified, and the 
average tonnage of each thus particularly given : the Englifh 
fhips ia the port of London were eftimated at 11? tons each; 
the foreign at 125 tons each: the Englifh fhips at the ouu 
ports at 72 each; the foreign at 98 tons each. Whence 
the editor was enabled, by an eafy calculation, to lay before 
the public a more precife account of the commerce of Eng- 
land, during the war of the Revolution, than has yet been 
toe, 

F 4 Let 



7 2 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Let us then attend to the following proofs 



Peace of Ryf- 7 

wick, 1697 J ! ^ 26 4 - 100,524 - 244,788 - 3,525,907 

*%9l 

1700^ 293,703 - 43,625 - 337,328 - 6,709,881, 



Value of car- 
Ships cleared outwards, goes exported.. 
Tons Eng. foreign. Total. £. 



I701 J 



In addition to this fatisfaclory detail let us con^ 
fider the revenue of the poft-orfice, which, fhew- 
ing the extent of correfpondence, at different pe- 
riods, furnifhes no bad proof of the progrefs of 
commerce. The nett income of the pofts, accord- 
ing to an average of the eight years of King Wil- 
liam's wars - - - - £.6j y 222 
P° of the four years of fubfequent 

peace - - - * 82,319* 



Yet, amidft all this profperity, PoJexfen, one of 
the Board of Trade, publifhed a diftourfefy in 
1697, in order to^fhew, " That, fo great had been 
the lories of a feven years war,, if a great flock be 
abfolutely neceffary to carry on a great trade, we 
may reafonably conclude the ftock of this nation 
is fo diminifhed, it will fall ihort; and that, with- 
out prudence and induftry, we mail rather con- 
fume what is left, than recover what we have loft." 
pavenant, the antagcnifl of Polexfen, ftunned every 

$ Mr. Aftle's Tranfcript. 

f Difcourfe on T rack, Coin, and Paper Credit, 



coffee- 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. J$ 

cofree-houfe, at the fame time, with his declama- 
tions on the decay of commerce. " It will be a 
« great matter for the prefent," fays he % <c if we 
" can recover the ground our trade has iofi during 
<f the laft war." But we have feen, that we had 
already gained Juperier ground at the precife mo- 
ment wherein he, in this manner, lamented our 
recent lcffes both of fhipping and trade. So dif- 
ferent are the deductions of theory from the in- 
formations of experience, that temporary interrup- 
tions are ccmrantly miftaken for Cympfcoms of 
habitual decline. And our commercial writers, 
owing to this caufe, are flill of well-meaning 
falfthood, while they fometimes propagate pur- 
pofed deception. 

■ — Phyfic is their bane : 

The learned leaches in defpair depart, 

And fhake their heads, dejponding of their art. 

The Revolution may juftly be regarded as an 
event in our annals, the moil memorable and in- 
teresting ; becaufe its effects have been the hap- 
pieft, in pefpeft to the fecurity, the comfort, and 
profperity of the people. Yet, it has for fome 
years been infilled, with a plaufibility, which pre- 
cludes the charge of intended paradox, that every 
caufe of depopulation — a devouring capital, the 
ivafte of wars, the drain of funding armies, emigra- 
tions to the colonies, the engrojjing of farms, the in- 



* Difcourfe on Trade, 1698. 



74 AN ESTIMATE OF 

cbfing of commons, the high price of provifwm, and 
zmbounded luxury — all have concurred, fmce that 
fortunate sra, to difpeople the nation 5 the num- 
bers of which, it is pretended, have decreafed a 
million and a half, and ftiil continue to decreafe. 

In oppofition to fuch controvertiits it is not 
ftrrlicient to argue, That, having traced a gradual 
advance in population, during fvx centuries of po- 
litical diffraction and domeftic mifery, and proved 
an addition of more than four millions to the ori- 
ginal itock, in 1066, notwithstanding waffeful 
wars, defolating famines, and habitual debility; 
we ought thence to infer, that the pofition of a 
■decreafmg populoujnefs > during z period the moll 
free, and profperous, and happy, can alone b^ 
maintained, by the decifive proof of enumerations, 
or at leaft, by a mode of induction, which is equal 
to them in die weight of its inference. It is pro- 
pofed then, to continue a brief review of the prin- 
cipal occurrences in our hiftory, fince the year 
1688, that could have either carried on the former 
progrefs of our population, or have promoted a 
gradual decline. 

The Revolution did not indeed produce fo much 
any alteration in the forms of the conftitution, as it 
changed the maxims of administration ; which have 
.every where fo great an influence on the condition 
of the governed. Yet, from thence a new sera is 
laid * to have commenced, in which the bounds 

* Blackft. Com. vol. i. p. 213. 

of 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 75 

of prerogative and liberty have been better de- 
fined, the principles of government more tho- 
roughly examined and underftood, and the rights 
of the fubject more explicitly guarded by legal 
provifions, than in any other period of the Engliih 
hiftory. One article alone, in the Declaration of 
Rights, was worth, on account of the confolation, 
which it adminiftered to the lower orders, the 
whole expence of the eniliing war : " That ex- 
ceflive bail mail not be required, or excefiive fines 
be impofed, or cruel and unufual punifhments be 
inflicted." Philofophers have juftly remarked, that 
fe verity of chaftifement has as natural a tendency 
to debafe mankind, as mildnefs to elevate them. 
It was not fo much from the declaration, that 
the levying money without confent cf Parliament is 
unlawful, that private property was fecured, as 
from the impartial administration of juftice, which 
has regularly flowed from the independence of 
the Judges. Anderibn* did not forget to give "a 
brief view of the eftablifhment of that free confti- 
tution, as it did certainly contribute greatly, in 
its confequences, to the advancement of our in- 
duftry, manufactures, commerce, and fhipping, as 
well as of our riches and people, notwithstanding 
feveral expenfive and bloody wars." 

The hearth-money was foon after taken away i 
iC being a great oppreflion (fay the Parliament) 
of the poorer fort, and a badge of flavery upon the 

* Chron. Acc. of Com. vol. ii. p. 189.— 95. 

whole," 



76 AN ESTIMATE OF 

whole." During the fame feifion, the firrt bounty 
was given on the exportation of corn : cc How 
much," fays that laborious writer, " this bounty has 
contributed to the improvement of husbandry, is 
too obvious to be difputed :" and accordingly, the 
year 1699 has been noticed as the epoch of the laft 
great dearth of corn in England. A flourishing 
•agriculture rnuft have neceffariiy promoted popu- 
loufnefs in two refpects 1 by offering encourage- 
ment to labour; by furniihing a fupply of provi- 
ficns at once confcant and cheap, which were both 
extremely irregular in former times. The act of 
toleration, which was at the fame time paffed, by 
Ci giving eafe to fcrupulous confciences," tended to, 
promote our induftry and traffic, and confequently 
the progrefs of population : for, we may learn of 
Sir Jofiah Child how many people had been driven 
out of England, from the rife of the Puritans in 
the reign of Elizabeth, to the bleffed asra of to- 
leration. 

On the other hand, it has been already Ihewn 
how much the eight-years war, which grew out 
of the Revolution, diflreffed the foreign trade of 
England. As King William employed chiefly the 
troops of other nations; as the profligate and the 
idle principally recruited the army ; as humanity 
row foftened the rigours of war ; it may be juftly 
doubted, if we loft a greater number by the mife- 
ries of the camp, than were acquired by the ar- 
rival of refugees, who, during that period, fought 
fecurity in England. And of this opinion was 
6 Doctor 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN . Jj 

Doctor Davenant*, who was no unconcerned fpec- 
tator of thole eventful times. Yet, it is a known 
fact, that the taxes, which were fucceffively im- 
pofed, did not produce in proportion to their aug- 
mentations. And if we attribute this unfavourable 
circumftance to the inability and preiTures of the 
people, more than to the novelty of contributions, 
to the enmity of many againft the new government, 
and to the diforders of the coin, we ought un- 
doubtedly to infer, that the impofirioii of additional 
burdens necelfarily flopped the progrefs of num- 
bers. The average price of wheat, from 1692 to 
1699, was nearly eight Jhittings the bujkd y according to 
Fleetwood. There have been terrible years dearths 
of corn, faid Swift, and every place is flrewed 
with beggars ; but dearths are common in better 
climates, and our evils here lie much deeper. 

Neverthelefs, internal traffic rlourilhed in the 
mean time. In 1689, the manufactures of cop- 
■per and brafs were revived, rather than intro- 
duced. The Sword-blade company, which fettled 
in Yorklnire, <c brought f over foreign workmen." 
The French refugees improved the fabricks of 
paper, and of filk, efpecially the luteftrings and 
alamodes ; which were fo much encouraged by 
Parliament, that the weavers, being greatly in- 
creafed in numbers, as well as in infolence, before 
the year 1697, raifed a tumult in London 2gainfl 

* Vol. iii. p. 369. 

f And. Chron. Acc. of Com. vol. ii. p. 195* 

the 



?3 AN ESTIMATE OP 

the wearers of Eaft India manufactures*. The 
eftablilhment of the Bank of England in 1694, 
by facilitating public and private circulation, pro- 
duced all the falutary effects, that were orginally 
foretold, becaufe it has been conftantly managed 
with a prudence, integrity, and caution, which 
have never been exceeded. By giving encourage- 
ment to flfheries, in 1695, a hardy race muft have 
been greatly multiplied 3 and by encouraging, in 
1696, the making of linens, iubfiftence was given 
to the young and the old. 

The conclufion of every lengthened war de- 
prives many men of fupport, who are therefore 
obliged to re-enter once more into the competitions 
of the world. Yet, Doctor Davenant f allured the 
Marquis of Normanby, in 1699, cc that we really 
want people and hands to carry on the woollen and 
linen manufactories together." Admitting the 
truth of an affertion, of which indeed there is no 
reafon to doubt, the obfervation is altogether con- 
fident with facts and with principles. In lefs than 
two years from the peace of Ryfwick, the dis- 
banded idlers had been all engaged in the manu- 7 
factories, which we have feen eftablifhed, and in 
the foreign traffic, that has been Ihewn to have 
nourifhed fo greatly from this epoch to the de- 
mife of King William. Now, what does the por- 
tion of Davenant prove, more than that uncommon 

* And. Chron. Acc. of Com. vol. ii. p. 220. 
t £foy on Eaft India Trade, p. 46. 

demand 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN, 79 

demand never fails to produce remarkable fcarcity* 
till a fufficient fupply has been found ? And Sir 
Jofiah Child was therefore induced, a hundred 
years ago, to lay it down as a maxim ; Such as 
our employment is for people, Jo many will our people 
be. Were we now to compare the circumftance 
mentioned by Sir John Dalrymple, of the raifing 
of three-and-twenty regiments in fix weeks, dur- 
ing the year 1689, with the fact ftated by Doc- 
tor Davenant, " of the fcarcity of hands" in 1699^ 
we ought to infer, that an alteration of manners, 
owing to whatever caufe, had in the mean time 
taken place ; and that the lower orders of men had 
learned from experience, to prefer the gainful em- 
ployments of peace to the lefs profitable, and more 
dangerous, adventures of war. 

Yet, admitting that the moral caujes before-men- 
tioned had naturally produced an augmentation of 
numbers, during the reign of William, we ought 
here to remark, that the people who chiefly fhared 
in the felicities, or were incommoded by the fac- 
tions of thofe times, mud have drawn their firft 
breath prior to the Revolution : the middle-aged, 
and the old, who enacted the laws, and as minifters, 
or magistrates, carried them into execution, muft 
have been born, during the diffractions of the 
civil v/ars, or amid the contends of the adminiftra- 
tion of Charles I. : and the gallant youth, who 
fought by the fide of King William, muft have 
nrft feen the light foon after the Reftoration. 

But, it ought here to be feared, as a circum- 
5 fiance, 



§6 Atf feSTIMATE 0# 

fiance, which may be -fuppofed to have checked 
the progrefs of population* that there had beert 
actually raifed, though with fome difficulty, on 
nearly feven millions of people, in thirteen 
years* - - £.58,698,688. 19*. Zd.z 

If we average this fum by the number of years* 
we (hall gain a pretty exact idea of King William's 
annual income - - £.4,415,360: 

And if from mis we deduct King 

James's revenue - - 2,061,856s 



The balance of augmentation will be £. 2 j453,504<> 

The principal of the public debt 
on the 31ft of December 1697 

was - - £• 2i,5i5>743i 

whereon was paid an annual intereft 

of - - - £. 1,246,376* 

And, thefe facts, mew how much more the people 
were burthened in the latter, than in the former* 
reign. 

It has neverthelefs been proved, that manufac- 
tures PiOurimed in the mean time ; that there was 
a great demand for labour ; that the foreign traffic 
and navigation of England doubled, from the 
peace of Ryfwick to the acceffion of Queen Anne. 
For, the re-coinage of the filler mean time pro- 
duced an exhilarating effect on induftry, in the 
fame proportion as the debafement of the current 

* Mr. Aftle's Tranfcript. 

torn 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. 8f 

coin is always difadvantageous to the lower or^ 
ders, and difhonourable to the ftate. The revi- 
val of public credit, after the peace of Ryfwickj 
and the rifing of the notes of the Bank of Eng- 
land to par, ftrengthened private confidence, at 
the fame time, that the fe caufes invigorated • our < 
•manufactures and our trade. And, ihe rpirit • of 
population was Mil more animated by the many 
acts of - , naturalization, which were readily palled, 
during every fefiion, in the reign of William ; and 
which clearly evince, how many induftrious fo- 
reigners found fhelter in Engh nd, from the perse- 
cution of countries, lefs tolerant and free, 



G 



Chap, 



AN ESTIMATE Q& 



Chap. V. 

The War of ghteen Anne. — The Strength «f the Na- 
tion* — The Loffes of Trade. — The Revival of 
Trade. — Complaints cf its Decline. — The Laws of 
Queen Anne y for promoting the Commercial Interefts 
of the Nation. — The Union. — Reflexions. 

AN E W war* frill more bloody and glorious 
than the former, enfued on the accefiion of 
Queen Anne. All Europe either hated the impe- 
rioufriefs, or dreaded, at length, the power of 
Lewis XIV. But it was his €C owning and declar- 
ing the pretended prince of Wales to be king 
of England, Scotland, and Ireland," which was the 
avowed caufe of the hoflilities of Great Britain 
againft France ; though private motives have gene- 
rally more influence than public pretences. When 
her treafurer fat down to calculate the coft, he found 
refotirces in his own prudence. Her general favr 
armies and alliances rife out of his own genius for 
war and negotiation* And both eftimated right* 
fince a favourable change had gradually taken 
place in the fpirit, as well as in the abilities of the 
people. 

If 



THE STRENGTH OF G» BRITAIN. Sj 

If we inquire more minutely into the national 
ftrength, we fhall find, that England and Wales now- 
contained about - - 1,700,000 fighting men* 

The Union with Scotland 

£dded to thefe about - 325,000 



So the united kingdom 

contained - - 2,025,000 



But troops, without money to carry them to war s 
with all that foldiers require, are of little avaih 
And happy is it for this nation, at lead, that there 
is a fucceffive rife in the accumulations of our 
wealth, in the fame manner, as we have already 
feen, there is a continual progrefc in our popula- 
tion ; owing to the various means, which indivi- 
duals conftantly ufe, to meliorate their own con- 
dition. There can be little doubt then, though 
Gregory King fuppofed the contrary, that the pro- 
ductive capital and annual gains of the people were 
greater, at the acceflion of Anne, than they had 
been, during the preceding reign *, cr in any former 
period, 

Godol- 

* After Co expenfive a war juft ended, fays Anderfon, it 
gave foreigners a high idea of the wealth and grandeur of 
England, ta fee t-ivo millions Jlerling fubfcribed for in three days, 
(by the new Eaft India Company in 1698) and there were 
f erfcns ready to fubfcribe as much more : For, although fmce 



^4 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Godolphin and Marlborough had not to con- 
tend with the embarraflinents of their immediate 
predeceffors. The diforders of the coin, which 
had fo enfeebled the late administration, had been 
perfectly cured by the great re -coinage of the laft 
reign. The high intereft, which had been given, 
and the ftill higher profit, that was made, by 
purchasing govern ment-fecurities, had drawn mean- 
while much of the hoarded cafh within the circle 
of commerce. No lefs than £.3,400,000 of ham- 
mered money, which had been equally locked up, 
were brought into action, according to Davenant, 
by the act for fuppreffing it, in 1697. The Bank 
of England now lent its aid, by facilitating loans, 
and circulating exchequer bills. And the public 
debts and additional taxes filled circulation at pre- 
fent, and gave it activity; as they had equally 
produced fimilar effects, when the Long Parlia- 
ment opened the coffers of England. Owing to 
all thofe caufes, the' ftatefmen of the reign of Anne 
borrowed 'money at five per cent, in 1702, and 
never gave more than fix, during the war which 
alone mews how the condition of this country had 
happily changed, from the rime that feven and 
eight per cent, were paid, only a few years before. 

that time higher proofs have appeared of the great riches of 
this nation, becauie our wealth is very viiibly increafed ; yet, 
till then, continues he, there "had- never been fo illuftrious 
an inftance of England's cpuknce. [Chron. Com. vol. ii. 

I The 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. 8$ 

The principal of the public debt, on the 31ft of 
December 1701, amounted to - 16,3945701 j 
whereon was paid an annual incereft 

of - - 1,109,123. 

The taxes yielded nett into the ex- 
chequer, during the year 1701 - £. 3*769,375. 

Of this inconfiderable revenue the 
current fervices for the navy ab- 
forbed — £. 1,046,397 
the land fervice - 425,998 
the ordnance - 49,940 
the civil lift - 704,339 



2,226,674 

There were applied to the 
payment of the prin- 
cipal and intereft of 
debts - - 1,411,912 



Balance remaining unapplied 130,789 

* £- 3.769.375- 



The nett fums paid into the exche- 
quer during the year 1703, from 
the cuftoms, excife, poft-office, 
land, and mifcellaneous duties - £. 5,561,944: 

* Mr. Artie's Tranfcript, 



Of 



au tstiUAri qt 

Of this fum there were iflued for 
carrying on the war £.3,666,430 

For paying the civil jjft 58 9,98 1 
the intereft of loans 430,307 

Balance remaining for 
the pay men t of loans, 
and other fervices - 87 5*226 

; *^5^5 6l ^944» 

The taxeSj which were annually levied on the 
people, during the prefent reign, may be calcu- 
lated from the nett fums paid into the exchequer 
in the years 1707 — 8 — 9 — jo, amounting yearly 
to £. 5,272/758. This gives us an idea furHciently 
precife of the pecuniary powers, which could then 
be exerted by Britain. But the military opera- 
tions of the government were more extenfive than 
the annual iupplies of the parliament ; So that 
before Chriftmas 1711, unfunded debts were con^ 
traded to the amount of £, 9,471,325. This 
fum was then too large, as it is faid, to be bor-* 
rowed at any rate. The public creditors agreed 
to convert their claims into a capital, at a lpec:~ 
Eed intereft, with charges of management. And 
here is the origin of the South Sea Company, and 
South Sea Stock:, which, whatever help they now 
brought with them, in after times* were perverted 
to very diftrefJul projects* 

* Mr. AUk's Tranfciipr, 

The 



THE STRENGTH OP G. BRITAIN", 87 

The fupplies granted, during the prefent reign, 
amounted to - - ^-69,315,457. us. $\d. 

The expencer of the war, as they were ftated by 
the commLTioners of public accounts, amount- 
ed to ^.65,853,799. %s* 7 id.* 

And the national debt fwelled, before the 31ft 
December 17 14, to - £.50,644,306. 13^. 6 \cL\ 
on which was paid an intereft of j* £.2,811,903. 
10/. $\d. and which were all more than counter- 
balanced by the legiflative encouragements, that 
were given, in this reign, to domeftic induftry and 
foreign trade. 

The furplus produce of our land and labour, 
which was yearly exported, had mean time rifen 
to £.6,045,432; a circumftance, which equally 
evinces, that we had not yet much to fpare, and 
confequently no van: remittance, which could be 
annually fent abroad for carrying on the war. 

The tonnage of Englifh mips, which, from 
time to time, tranfported this cargo, and which, 
at that epoch, formed the principal nurfery for 
the royal navy, had increafed to - ^7 3*693 tons 5 
this fhipping muft have been na- 
vigated, if we allow twelve men to 
every two hundred tons, by - 16^422 failors. 

By an enumeration J of the trading vellels of 
England, in January 17 01, it appeared, that 

* Camp. Pol. Survey, vol. ii. p. 543. 

f Hiih of Debt, p. 80; which gives a particular fbtement* 

I A detail m the Plantation- office. 

$ 4 X-ondon 



S8 Atf estimate or 

London had - - 84,882 tons, 
The out-ports had 176,-40 

261,222; and 

that they were navigated by 16,471 men, and 
1 20 boys, or 16,591 failors. 

The inconfiderable difference between the enu- 
merated tonnage and mariners, and the tonnage 
and mariner* cleared at the cuftcm houfe, only 
marks, that feveral fhips had entered more than 
once, and that a greater number of men were 
then allowed to every vefTel than there are now ; 
whence we may infer, that the calculation and 
the enumeration prove the accuracy of each 
other. 

The royal navy, which in Tons. Men. 
1695 had carried — 112,000 and 45,000, 
had mouldered before 

if 04* to — — 104,754 — 41,000 



* An admiralty-lift of all her Majefty's fhips and veffels in 
{pa-pay, at home and abroad, on the 27th. of Feb;uary 1703-4? 
with the higheft complement of men, and the numbers borne, 
jsuitered, and wanting. [From the Paper-office.] 

dumber of fhips. Rates. 
5 — of — 2 

4° ~ — — 3 

57 — — — 4 

33 ~ — — 5 

J 6 — — ~ 6, hefides fire-fhips, 
bombs, and fmaUer veiTels, all which 

Complement of Men. Borne. Muftered. 
Contained 46,745 — 39720 — 30,778 
Wanting *» — 7,025 — '5'9^7 

Its 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 8<J 

Its real force will, however, more clearly ap- 
pear from the following detail * : 

Ships of the line employ- 
ed in — 1702 - 74 in 1707 - 72 
l 7 c 3 - * 79 — 1708 - 69 

1704 - 74 — 1709 - 67 

1705 - 79 — [710 - 62 

1706 - 78 — 17 f 1 - 59 



Such then was the augmented ftrength of the 
nation under Queen Anne. Let us now .enquire 
into the lofTes of our trade, during her glorious, 
but unproductive, war. 

The effort of the belligerent powers was made 
chiefly by land ; and the foreign trade of Eng- 
land feems to have rather languished, than to have 
been overpowered, as it had been, for a feafon, 
during the preceding conteft. Let us examine 
the following proofs : 



Years. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes. 

17001 Tons Engl ifh. D° foreign. Total. £. 

1 1 273,693 - 43,635 - 3 I 7>3 2 $ - 6,045,432 

1705 5,308,966 

1709 243,693 - 45> 62 5 - 289,318 - 5,913,357 

17 1 1 266,047 -.57,890 - 323,937 - 5,962,988 

1712 326,620 - 29,115 - 155,735 " 6,868,840 



* Philips'* State of the Nation, p. 35. 

The 



§3 A ft ESTIMATE OF 

The revenue of the pott-office *, on an 
average of the four laft years of 
William, yielded nett — — £.$2,31$ 

Ditto of the four firft years of the war - 61,568 

Thus, the year 1705 marked the loweft ftage of 
the deprefiion of commerce, during Queen Anne's 
wars; whence it gradually rofe till 171 2, the laft 
year of hoftilities, when our navigation and traffic 
had gained a manifeft fuperiorky over thofc of any 
former period of peace. 

Let us behold the rebound of this mighty fpring, 
trhenthe return of tranquillity had removed every 
prefiure, by contracting the average of the fhips 
cleared outwards, and of the value cf cheir cargoes, 
during the three peaceful years preceding the war, 
with both, during the three years immediately fol- 
lowing the treaty of Utrecht, 

Years. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes. 

1699") Tons Enrlifh. D° foreign. Total. £. 

1700 I 293,703 - 43,625 - 337>3 2 $ - 6,709,88* 
*7*3l 

14 J- 4**>43 I - 26,573 - 44^004 - 7> 6 9 6 >573 
* Mr, A&e's Tmcfcript. 



*THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 

The netc annual revenue* ofthepoft- 
office, according to an average of the 
years 1707 — 8 — 9—10 — - jC»S^a°5* 

Ditto on an average f of the years 

17 1 1 — 12— 13— 14 — — 9°^ 2 3 



At the moment of this marvellous advance in 
manufactures) traffic, and induftry, the people were 
taught to believe, that thefe blefiings fcarcely 
exifted among them. « Our trade," faid Mr. WiU 
liam Wood to King George I. J " was then ex- 
piring; our foreign commerce, in many parts, 
entirely loft, and in general fufpended ; what little 
was left us, was become too precarious to be called 
ours." And, in the encomiatlic ftyle of his dedi- 
cation, he attributed our regeneration from cc the 
loft condition our trade was then in, to his Ma- 
jefty's timely acceffion." The minifters of this 
monarch did little honour to themfelves, by in- 

* Mr. Artie's Tranfcript. 

f And. Chron. Com. vol. ii. p. 266; But, the office had 
been bow extended to every dominion of the crown, and the 
rates of poftage augmented one-third from 1710. The poil- 
ofnee revenue, fays Anderlon, is a kind of politicQ-ccmmercial 
pulfe of a nation's profperity or decline. 

\ Wood's Dedication of The Survey of Trade. This was 
not the fame William Wood, who obtained the patent for coin^ 
ing Irifh halfpence, which procured him fo much celebration 
by Swift; but i; was the William Wood, who was afterwards 
appointed to the office of Secretary to the Commiffioners a% 
the Cu ftoms» 

citing 



%fl An estimate df 

eking all that clamour, or by propagating Co much 
factious falfehood. It was not the peace of Utrecht, 
which promoted the unexampled profperity of our 
commercial affairs ; but, it was peace. Yet, faid 
Archibald Hutchinfon, in 17 20, // is too well knozvn, 
and a fad truth it is, that the balance of trade has 
hesn for feme time againft us. The caufe why de- 
clamations prevail fo greatly, faid Hooker, is, for 
that men fuffer themfelves to be deluded. 

The public revenue had now been divided into 
the efiabltfhed income, as the inland duties, the ex- 
cife, and the cuftoms and into annual grants, as 
the malt, and the land, taxes. The inland duties> 
confifting at the demife of the Queen of fifteen 
diftinct heads, were all managed by diftincl com- 
mhTioners, and may be eftimated at the yearly 
amount of £.453,002, from an average of the 
years 1707—8 — 9 — 10. The excife, properly fo 
called, and collected under the peculiar manage- 
ment of the commifiloners of excife, confuted of 
twenty-feven different articles, and may be calcu- 
lated, from the fame average, at £. 1,629,245, 
including the duty on malt. And we may thence 
determine how much it may have obftrucled labour, 
and checked the progrefs of population. The 
nett cuftoms, arifmg from our imports and exports, 
confifted then of forty-one different branches, and 
may be calculated from a fifteen years average, 
from 1700 to 17 14 inclufive, to have amounted 
to£. i,35->7 6 4*- 

* Philip's State of die Nation, p. z6. 

Having 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. ©j 

Having enumerated " that fad detail of taxes/* 
the hiftorian of our debts exclaims: <c Can we 
wonder at the decay of our commerce, under fiich 
circumftantes ? Should not we rather wonder that 
we have any left ?" But, what regard is there due. 
to a general inference, in oppofition to authentic 
facts ? It has been already demonftrated, that in 
no former effluxion of time did the manufactures 
and trade of England flourifh fo much, cr amount 
to fo large an extent, as at the demife of Queen 
Anne, notwithstanding the greatnefs of our Im- 
ports, and the immenfity of our debts. And, when 
we confidtr too, that the taxes had produced 
abundantly, we may from thefe decifive circum- 
ftances certainly conclude, that the war had little 
incommoded the induftrious clafTes ; and that the 
principle of procreation exerted its powers, while 
an attentive diligence preferved a numerous pro- 
geny, by furnifhing the conftant means of fubfift- 
ence, while there was a vaft export of corn, owing 
to its cheapneis at home. 

Whoever examines the laws of Queen Anne, 
with a view to this fubject, muft be of opinion,, 
that they all tended to promote the commercial 
interefts, and local improvements, of the nation, 
as fuch interefts were then underftood. In this 
reign, there were acts of Parliament pafled, 



For 



AN> ESTIMATE OF 

For encouraging {nipping and foreign trade - 17 

for promoting manufactures - $ 

For roads, churches, bridges, and paving - 26 

For piers, harbours, &c. - - - 10 

For inclofures, and agricultural improvements 8 

For the management of the poor 5 

For all thefe ufeful purpofes - 7 1 

But, the union of the two kingdoms is the 
glory, and ought to be the boaft of her reign. 
The incorporation of two independent legiflatures 
has proved equally advantageous to both coun- 
tries, whether we regard the intereft of the ftate, 
or the happinefs of the governed. When we con- 
fider the weaknefs, which refulted from the ancient 
Inroads of the Scotch, and the danger of future 
feparation, we muft allow, that this conjunction 
was worth to England almoft any price. And 
the comprerlion of the hearts and hands of two 
divided nations, gave an elaflicity and vigour to 
the united kingdoms, which feparately neither had 
ever attained. If as communities fo much ftrength 
and felicity were derived from the Union, the Scot- 
tifh people, as individuals at leaft, were ftill greater 
gainers from this aflbciation of interefts and affec- 
tions. Freed from the tyranny of the nobles, by 
being admitted into a political fyftem more liberal 
than their own, the people of Scotland thence- 
forth enjoyed the fame privileges, as fimilar ranks 
in England had long derived from fortunate events, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. £g 

or wife inftitutions* And, inverted with the fame 
benefits of commerce, the Scotch meliorated their 
agriculture, improved their manufactures, extended 
their trade, and acquired an opulence, which, as a 
people, feparate and overlhadowed, they had not 
for ages accompliihed. The acquifitions of both 
happily proved advantageous to each. And while 
the Enplifh bufily cultivated the peculiar arts of 
peace, the Scotch were brought, by a wife policy, 
from their mountains, the natural nurfery of war- 
riors, to fight the national battles of both. 

From the epoch of the Union, the fame fala- 
tary regulations promoted equally the profperity 
and populoufnefs of Great Britain. Among thefe 
Anderfon * has recorded the ufeful revifal, in 
1 710, of the ancient affize of bread and ale 
[1266]; becaufe "it was fo neceiTary for our 
labourers and artificers, as well as for all other 
people." Whatever number of lives were loft 
during the wars of William and Anne, it feems 
certain, fays that induftrious compiler, <c that the 
artificers of England did irreparable damage in 
the mean time to the French, by robbing them 
of many of their beft manufacture*, wherewith they 
had before fupplied almoft all Europe." 

The foregoing details caft a juft cenfure on the 
furious party-contefts, during the laft years of 
Queen Anne, in refpecl to the condition of our 
commerce ; as if the profperity, or the ruin of 

* Chron. Com* vol. ii, p. 251* 



manu* 



fj6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

manufactories and trade, were influenced by the 
continuance of flatefmen in the poffeffion of emo- 
lument, or in the expectation of power. The 
hufbandman and the failor only look for employ- 
ment, the mechanic , and the merchant only in- 
quire for cuftomers, without caring who are their, 
rulers, fince they feldom gain from the contefts of 
the great, and certainly know, that they enjoy pro- 
tection from the adminiftration of jufbice, and from 
the operation of lav/. 



*TH£ -STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN §7 



Chap. VL 

Foreign Difputes cf George I. — The State of thi 
Nation. — Observations. — -The Progrefs of Commerce 
md Shipping. — Complaints of a Decline cf 'Trade, 
— Induftry and Traffic encouraged. — Remarks* 

TT 7 KILE George I. who afcended the throne, 
V V in 17 14, was, in fecret, little anxious abouc 
the enjoyment of his crown, amid the clam of do- 
meftic parties, he engaged fuccefiively in contefts 
with almoft every European power, becaufe each, 
in its turn, had given protection to the Pretender 
to his rights. 

But, the foreign difputes of this reign were ihorr, 
as well as unexpeniive. A nd they did not, there- 
fore, call forth the whole force of the kingdom ; 
which may be deduced in the following manner. 

If the current of population continued its pro- 
grefs, as we have feen it did to the commencement 
of the prefent reign, the fighting men mull ne- 
ceflarily have amounted, during the time of George 
I. to two millions and fifty thoufand. And the 
effective wealth of the country, there is reafon to 
think, had accumulated mean while in a dill 
greater proportion ; from preceding encourage* 
mentsj and the augmentation of capitals* 

H Owing 



AN ESTIMATE Of 

Owing to the encreafe of circulation, which 
enables the opulent to convert fo eafily land into 
coin, or coin into land, and to the accumulation 
too of moveable property, the intereft of money 
began to fall towards the end of King William's 
reign, when no great balance of trade flowed into 
the kingdom. And the natural intereft continu- 
ing low, even amid the preffures of the fubfequent 
war, the Parliament enacted, in 17 13, that the 
legal intereft mould not rife higher than five per 
cent, after September 1714. Thus England, 
while me was yet embarrafTed with the never-fail- 
ing confequences of war, gained cc that abate- 
ment of intereft by law," which Sir Jofiah Child 
rather too fondly infilled, during the preceding 
age, would produce fo many benefits to his coun- 
try : The advance of the price of lands in the pur- 
chase ; the improvement of the rent of farms ; the 
employment of the poor ; the multiplication of artifi- 
cers-, the increafe of foreign trade-, and the aug- 
mentation of the Jtocks of people. The natural in- 
tereft of money fell to three per cent, in the reign 
of George I. while the government feldom bor- 
rowed at more than four. 

The practice of borrowing on behalf of the 
ftate had commenced with the preffures of King 
William's reign. This policy was continued, and 
extended, during the wars of Anne. But, in the 
time of her fucceftbr, the contract, between the 
government and the lenders, was not fo much 
made, as in preceding times, for the re-payment 
9 of 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 99 

of the principal, as for an annuity inftead of in- 
tercity 

The nation had thus contracted a debt, before 
the 31ft of December 1714, of - £.50,644,307; 

to pay the interefl of which re- 
quired, from die land and labour 
of this kingdom, yearly, - £.2,8 1 1,904. 



It ought to be remembered, however, that this 
debt was due by the nation in its collective capa- 
city ; but, that individual creditors had acquired 
a vaft capital in it, of the more importance to 
them and the public ; as, befides yielding an an- 
nual profit, it was equally commodious as coin, 
for all the ufes of life; fince it could be eafily 
pledged, or transferred. And land-owners were 
thereby enabled to improve, their eftates, manu- 
facturers to carry on their bufmefs, traders to ex- 
tend our commerce, and every one to pay their 
taxes. If by this debt, and by this annuity, the 
ftate was fomewhat em barrelled, the induftrious 
clafles derived,, probably, fome advantage, from 
the active motion, which v/as thereby given to the 
circulating value of all things. Yet, if the peo- 
ple received no pcfitive benefit, they were at leaft 
enabled, by this facility, to fuftain actual burdens 
with greater eafe. 

While taxes were, without rigour, collected 
from annual income, and not from productive ca- 
H 2 pita!* 



100 AN ESTIMATE OF* 

pita], a financial operation was performed, in 1716, 
which gradually relieved the embarraffments of 
the (late, and gave rrefh vigour to circulation, that 
energetic principle of commercial times. All thofe 
taxes, which had from time to time been granted 
for the payment of various annuities, were at once 
made perpetual, and directed to be paid into three 
great funds. The i-nterefc of the public debts was 
reduced from fix per cent, to five. And whatever 
furplufes might remain, after paying this liqui- 
dated intereft, were ordered to be thrown into a 
fourth fundj which was thenceforth called the 
finking fund j becaufe it was defigned to pay off the 
principal and intereft of fuch debts as had been 
contracted before Chriftmas 1726. 

So productive were the taxes, owing to the 
profperity of the people, that thefe furplufes 
amounted, before the end of the reign of George I. 
to £»i>o8 3,190 *. And thefe furplufes would 
have made the country frill more profperous, had 
the finking fund been conftandy applied, as it was 
thus originally defigned j by keeping circulation 
full and overflowing, and thereby preventing what 
is commonly deplored as a fear city of money. 

Notwithstanding that falutary operation, and 
our manufactures and trade were at the fame time 
greatly encouraged, the capital of the public debts 
amounted to nearly as much at the idemife of 

* Exchequer account, in the Hiftory of Debts. - 



George 



THE STRENGTH OP G. BRITAIN', tOl 

George I. as it had been at his acceffion, though the 
annuity, payable on them, was by thofe means feme- 
what reduced j as appears by the following ftatement: 
The principal of the national debt was, on the 

31ft of December 1714 - £.5;, 681,076 5 the intereft thereof '£.2,811,904. 
D° on 31ft Dec. 1727- 52,0925235; Ditto - 2,363,564, 



The intermediate dimi- 
nution - - jC- i jS^^'"4 j 



We fhall however gain a more adequate notion 
not only of the public revenue and burdens^ but 
of the reibjurces of the nation, from the follow- 
ing detail : 

The nett excife, according to a me- 
dium of four years, ending at Mi- 
chaelmas 1726 (exclufive of the 
malt-tax) - - £.1,927,354 

The nett annual cuftoms - 1,530,361 

Various and promifcuous 

internal taxes - 666,459 
Total appropriated £.4>i24 ; i74 

The land-tax at is. in 

the pound is given for £.i,coo 3 ooo 

Malt - duty brings in 
£.680,000, but is gi- 
ven for - ? 750,000 

Raifed by lottery - - 750,000 
Total annual grants 
for current fervices — — 2,500,000 

H 3 Nett 



102 



AN ESTIMATE Of 



Nett annual revenue - - £.6,624,175 
Charges of collection - - 600,000 



The grofs fum raifed yearly on 
the people - - - £,7,224,175 



The public expenditure was as follows : 
Intereft of a debt of £.50,793,555% 
including the furplus of the civil 
lift, which is £.3,678 $er annum, 

£.2,240,985 

The civil lift - - 800,000 

' 3,040,985 

Surplus of the finking fund - 1,083,190 
The current fervices of the army, 

navy, &c. - 2,500,000 

The annual charges with current — « 

fervices - - - - 6,624,175 

Salaries and other charges, at leaft 600,000 



Grofs fum annually applied - £.7,224,175 



The value of the furplus producls of the land 
and labour of England, after domeftic confump- 
tion was fully fuppiied, amounted yearly, at the 
accelfion of George I. to £.8,008,068 which 

* But, according to James Poftlethwayt's HiHory of the 
Public Revenue, the national debt, on the 31ft of December* 
1726, was £.52,771,005; whereon was paid an annuity of 
£.2,562,217; 

formed 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 10J 

-formed a much larger cargo than had ever been 
exported before. And from this circumftance we 
might infer, that there was now employed a 
greater capital in trade than, by means of its pro- 
ductive employment, had, in any prior age, pro- 
moted the wealth and greatnefs of Britain. 

The Englifh Ihipping, which exported that van: 
cargo, at the acceflion of George I. had then in- 
creafed to - - 444,843 tons j 

which muft have been navigated, 

if we allow twelve mariners to 

every two hundred tons, by - 26,691 men. 

The royal navy, which had been 

principally left by Queen Anne, 

carried in 17 15 - 167,596 tons, 

Wood ftated * the amount of the 

navy, in 1721, at - 158,233 tons: 

which, faid he, is more than in 
1688, by 57,201 t6hsj 

and more 

than in 1660, by 95,639. 



Notwithftanding the boafts of 
Wood, and the glory acquired 
by defeating the Spanifh fleet, in 
1718, it is apparent, that the 
navy had lately fuftained a di- 
minution of 9>3&3 tons. 



Survey of Trade, p. 5 5, 
H 4 



Having 



|C4 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Having faid thus much with regard to the. 
ftrength of Britain, let us now examine the lories 
of our trade, from the petty wars of the prefent 
reign ; which feem not indeed to have much in- 
terrupted the foreign commerce of the kingdom, 
while falutary regulations excited the dcrneitic in- 
duftry of the people. 

Owing probably to a complication of caufes, 
the traffic and navigation of England appear to 
have ftruggled with their opprefiicns, during this 
reign, but never to have rm-: much fuperior to 
the amount of both, in the year of the accefllon of 
George L The following details offer fufficient 
proofs of the truth of this reprefentation ; 





Sh^ps 


cleared outwards. 


Value of cargoes 


Years. 


Tons Englifa. 


D° foreign. 


Total. 


£- 


1714 


444: 8 43 - 




478,793 


- 8,oo8,c68 


1.1 


406,392 - 


19,508 - 


425,900 


- 6,922,263 


10 


438,8*6 - 


17^493 - 


45&39J 


- 7:°49^9 2 


I718 


427,962 - 


16,809 - 


444,77 1 


- 6,361,390 


*3 


39 2 ^43 - 


2.7,040 - 


419.683 


* 7>395>9 oS 



We fhall fee however a progrefs, if we contraft 
the averages of our navigation and trade, at the 
beginning and at the end of George I's reign 5 
and if we alio recollect, that the bufinefs of 1726 
and 1727 was fomewhat interrupted by war, or 
by preparations for w T ar, 

I Ship^ 



"THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. IO5 

Ye-rs. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes, 

17131 Tons Englifhl D° foreign. Total. £. 

■ 14 I 421,43! - 2 ^S73 fc 448,004 - 73696,573 
1726 1 

27 \ 43^ 8 3 2 - 2 3^Si - 45 6 »4«J - 7> 8 9*>739 

28 J 

During this progrefs there were, however, ./ c 
general complaint and concern of the nation, on the 
fubjec"r. of a decline of trade*." Jofhua Gee pub- 
lifted, in 1729, his treatife, which, in order "to 
fhew the wounds our commerce and manufactories 
had received, he put into the hands of the minifters, 
of the King, the Queen, and the Prince When 
Erafmus Philips wrote his State of the Nation, in 
1725^, he found " fome men fo gloomy, that 
they thought us in a worfe condition than we really 
are, and that it would be impoflible to pay off the 
public debts ; fince all this pomp is nothing but 
falfe Inure; as we §we more than we are worth; 
as our money is diminished ; and as we have little 
left but paper- credit." Againft this contempora- 
neous declamation, which mews that man, in every 
age, utters, his lamentations in a fimilar tone, Phi- 
lips ltated, what experience has fhewn to have 
joeen undoubtedly true, the certain proofs of the 

* Wood's Survey, 
j Gee's Dedication. 

\ Preface to The State of the Nation % which, as well as 
IVood's Survey, was dedicated to the King, according to the 
jprac?vice of the times. 

tirofperity 



ICS A N ESTIMATE OF 

frojperity and opulence of a country great numbers 
cf induftrious people ; a rich commonalty ; money at 
law inter eft ; and land at a great "value, 

Neverthelefs, there were affuredly events, dur- 
ing the reign of George I. which caft a gloom 
over the nation, and obftructed general profperity. 
The perfections of the great, on the accefiion of 
a new family, which were followed by the tumults 
of the mean, ought to give a leflbn of moderation ; 
fince they were attended with no good confe- 
quences to the ftate. The fubfequent rebellion 
of 171 J brought with it a twelvemonth of detrac- 
tion, without leaving the terrors of example* 
And the war with Spain, in 17 18, obftructed our 
Mediterranean commerce, as every war with that 
kingdom muft continue to do, while Gibraltar, the 
great caufe of hoftilities, remains, and bids the 
Spaniards defiance. But, it was the infamous year 
1720, which diverted all claries to projects and 
bubbles, that ought to be blotted from our annals* 
if they did not form remarkable beacons to direct 
our future courfe. 

Of this reign it is the characteriftic, that though 
in no period were there fo many laws enacted, for 
promoting domeftic and foreign trade, yet, at no 
time did both profper iefs, during thofe days of 
captious peace, rather than avowed hoftilites. The 
treaty of commerce with Spain, in 17 15, muft 
have infpired our traders with frelh vigour. The 
law which, in 17 18, prohibited any Britifh fub- 
jedt from carrying on traffic to the Eaft under 

foreign 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. IOJ 

foreign commiflions, turned their ardour upon 
more invigorating objects, by preventing produc- 
tive capital from being fent abroad. The mea- 
fure of allowing the exportation of Britljh-made 
linen, duty-free, in 17 17, gave us a manufacture* 
which is faid, even then, to have employed many 
thoufands of the poor. And the fimeries were 
encouraged by bounties, which muft have multi- 
plied the important race of our mariners. 

The falutary laws, which were made for incit- 
ing domeftic induftry, were doubtlefs more effica- 
cious in the fubfequent reign, than they were felt, 
in any great degree, during the preient. The ma- 
nufactories of iron, of brafs, and of copper, being 
considered as the third in extent, fince they em- 
ployed, as it is Jaid y in 17 19, two hundred and 
thirty thoufand perfons, were promoted with the 
attention, which was due to their importance. 
The continued encouragement, that had been given 
to the fabrics of filk, and the erection of the van: 
machine of Lomb, in 1719, had raifed the annual 
value of this manufacture to ^.700,000, in 1722, 
more, as it is Hated, than it had yielded at the Re- 
volution. 

But, the year 1722 mull always form an epoch, 
as memorable for a great operation in commercial 
policy, as the eft abli foment of the linking fund 
had been in finance, a few years before. The Par- 
liament had indeed, in 1672, withdrawn the duties, 
which were then payable by aliens, on the expor- 
tation of cur own manufactures. This falutary 

principle 



ICS- AN ESTIMATE OF 

principle was ftill more extended, in i 7 00, by 
removing the impofts on every kind of woollen 
goods, that mould be thereafter fent abroad. It 
was however by the law for the further encourage- 
ment of manuj "afiures, that every one was allowed 
to export duty-free all merchandizes, the produce 
of Great Britain, except only fuch articles, as mould 
be deemed materials of manufacture ; while drugs, 
and other goods ufed for dying, were equally per- 
mitted to be imported duty-free. And other faci- 
lities were at the fame time given to trade, whilft 
the fifneries were promoted by bounties. 

Afcer enumerating all preceding meafures of en- 
couragement, Anderfon* remarks, in 1727, that 
nothing can more obvioufly demonftrate the amaz- 
ing increafe of England's commerce, in lefs than 
two centuries pafr, than the great growth of its 
manufacturing towns, fiioh as Liverpool, Man- 
chefler, Birmingham, and others ; which are ftill 
increafmg in wealth, people, bufinefi, and build- 
ings. Yet, Lord Molefwcrth j- complained, in 
1721, " that we are not one-third peopled, and 
cur ftock of men daily decieafes through our 
wars, plantations, and fea- voyages. 5 ' His lord- 
fhip was arguing, when he made this obferva- 
tion 3 for a general naturalization, a policy of very 
doubtful merit, becaufe in all fudden change there 

* Chron. Com. vol. ii. p. 314. 

f Pref. to his tranHation of Hottoman r s Franco- Gallia, 
jsd edit. p. 23 — 4. 

is s 



THE STRENGTH OF G* BRITAIN. IO9 

is confiderable inconvenience ; and he may have 
therefore been biafTed by his principle. If this 
nobleman intended to add his teftimony to an 
apparent fact, that he faw no labourers to hire, his 
evidence would only prove, that the induftrious 
clajjes were fully employed ; and employment never 
fails to promote population. If his lordmip only 
meant to give vent to his laudable anxieties for 
his country, this circumfrance would lead us to 
infer, that great as well as little minds are too apt: 
to complain of the miferies of the prefent. 

When we our letters fee bearing our woes? 
We fcarcely think cur mi/cries our foe*. 



no 



An ESTIMATE OF 



Chap. VIL 

Ifhe State of the Nation at the Acceffion of George IL*~» 
Remarks thereon, — 'The Increafe of 'Trade and Ship* 
ping. — Complaints of their Decline*— Reflections.— 
Our Strength when War began in ij^g.— Our 
*T rade and Shipping during the War. — The Prof* 
perity of both at the Reft or at ion of Peace. — Com* 
plaints of Decline. — Remarks. 

f | \ H E reign of George II. with whatever 
JL fmifter events it opened, will be found to 
have promoted greatly, before its fuccefsful end, 
the induftry and productive capital of the nation ; 
and confequently, the efficient numbers of the 
people, by the means of augmented employments. 

Fie found his kingdom burdened with a funded 
debt of rather more than fifty millions ; which 
required annually, from the land and labour of the 
nation, taxes to the amount of two millions and 
upwards, to pay the creditor's annuity. 

But, as his predecerTor reduced, ten years before, 
the intereft payable on the public debts, from fix 
per cent, to five, the adminiftration of the p-;efent 
King made a further reduclicn, with the confent 
of all parties, from five per cent, to four, in 17 27. 
Thefe meafures, which the fortunate circumftances 

of 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN* II f 

bf the times rendered eafy and fafe, not only 
irrengthened public and private credit, but, by 
reducing the natural intereft of money ftill more, 
mufl have thereby facilitated every operation of 
domeftic manufactures, as well as every effort of 
foreign traffic. The fabrics of wool were at the 
fame time freed from fraud. And the peace with 
Spain, in 1728, mufl have invigorated our expor- 
tations to the Mediterranean ; the more, as a truce 
was then alfo made with Morocco. 

Yet, party-rage ran fo high, in 1729, fays An- 
derfon*, that the friends of the minifter found 
themfelves obliged to prove by faffs, what was 
before generally known to be true, that Britain 
was then in a thriving condition : the low interefl of 
money, faid they, demonftrates a greater plenty 
of cafh than formerly this abundance of money 
has raifed the price of lands from twenty and 
twenty-one years purchafe to twenty and twenty- 
five; an advance, which proves, that there were 
more perfons able and ready to buy than for- 
merly : — And the great fums, which were of late 
expended in the inclofing and improving of lands^ 

* Chron. Com. vol. ii. p. 322. — The caufe of the above- 
mentioned party-rage is now fufficiently known. Sir Spencer 
Compton outwitted himfelf in the bargain for place > about 
Queen Caroline's jointure. Sir R. Walpole did not higgle 
with her Majefty about a hundred thoufand pounds : and he 
was, in return, continued the minifter, But, the profpeiity 
of the people is no wife connected with the interefted contefts 
among the great. 



and 



f t£ AN EST iMATt df 

and in opening mines, are proofs of an augments 
tion of opulence and people ; while the increafed 
value of our exports mews an increafe of manu- 
factures - } at the fame time that the greater number 
of fhipping, which were cleared outwards, marks 
the wider extent of Our navigation. 

If we compare the averages of our veffels and 
cargoes, in the firft years of the prefent reign, with 
thofe of the three years of peace, which preceded 
the war of 1739, we fhall fee all thofe truths in a 
ftill more pleafmg light. 

Years. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes, 

I726I Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. £. 

27 £ 43 2 j 8 32 - 23,651 - 45 6 ^3 " 7>9 l8 '4°6 

28 J 

17367 

37 \ 476,941 - 26,627 - 503,568 - 9>993>-3i 

It was at this moment of unexampled profpe- 
tity, that the elder Lord Lyttelton wrote Con-> 
/nitrations an the prefent State of Jffairs y (1738). 
cc In moft parts of England," fays he, " gentle- 
men's rents are fo ill paid, and the weight of 
taxes lies fo heavy upon them, that thofe, who 
have nothing from the Court, can fcarce fuppoit 
their families. — Such is the ftate of our manufac- 
tures, fuch is that of our colonies \ both mould 
be enquired into, that the nation may know, whe- 
ther the former can fupport themfeives much 
longer under their various prerTures." The edi- 
tor of his lordfhip's works would have done no 

dhTervice 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN*. II J 

d'iffervice to the memory of a worthy man, had 
he configned this factious effufion to anonymous 
obfcurity. Animated by a congenial Ipirit, Pope 
too wrote Confide? ations on the State of Affairs: 
in his two dialogues, entided thirty-eight, he 
reprefents, in moft energetic language, and exqui- 
fite numbers, the nation as totally ruined , as over- 
whelmed with corruption: 

" See thronging millions to the Pagod run, 
And offer country, parent, wife, or ion ! 
Hear her bleak trumpet through the land proclaim, 
That not to be corrupted is the fhame. 

It was about the fame time alfo, that William 
Richardfon compofed his elfay tC On the Caufescf the 
Decline of Foreign Trade." But, it is not eafy to 
conceive, that any difquifition can be more de- 
praved, than a treatife to explain the caufes of an 
effecly which did not exift. 

It was the evident purpofe of fome of thofe 
writers to drive the nation headlong into war, 
without thinking of any other confequences, than 
acquiring power, or gratifying fpleen ; and with- 
out caring how much a people, reprefented as un- 
able to pay their rents, might be burthened with 
taxes ; or a country, painted as feeble from diffi- 
pation, might be difgraced, or conquered. 

If the nation had thus profpered in her affairs, 
and the people thus increafed in their numbers, 
Great Britain muft have contained, when Hie was 

I facticufly 



tT4 AN- 1STIEAT1 0?* 

fadtioufly forced into war with Spain,., a greatef 
number of fighting men than had ever fought 
her battles before. And fhe muft have poffcffecf 
a mafs of productive capital, and a greatnefs of 
annual income, far fuperior to thofe of former years- 

The courfe of circulation had filled, and' even 
overflowed. The- natural intereft of money ran* 
ffeadily at three per cent. The price of all the pub- 
lic fecurities had rifen fo much higher than they 
had been in any other period* that the three per 
cent, flocks fold at a premium on '"Change *. And 
the annual furplufes of the {landing, taxes* as they 
were paid into the finking- fund, amounted irs 
1738, to no lefs a fum than ^.i r 2jr*T27- 

Of this fund it has been very properly obferved* 
that while it contributes to the liquidation of 
former debts, it ftiM more facilitates the contract- 
ing of new ones- But, the great conteft among, 
the public creditors at that fortunate epoch, was 
not fo much whp mould be paid his capital, as 
who mould be fuffered to remain the creditors of 
the flate f . How much of the public debts had 
been paid, during the lafl ten years, and how mucb 
Hill remained as a burden on, the ftate^ will appear 
from the following detail ; 

* Sir J. Barnard's fpecsh for the redu&isn e£ interefc- 
% Idi 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN*; lf| 
tfe the 31ft Pec. 172S, 
the principal was £.51,028,431 the inter«ft - j£'2>i37>7S* 
Ditto - 1738 46,661,767 :— Ditto - - Ij9 6 *>053 

The intermediate diminu- 
tion .... £.4,366,664 



The Value of the furplus produce of our land 
and labour, which were then exported; amounted 
yearly to £.9,993,232; and which might have 
been applied, when fent to foreign countries; as 
j-emittances for carrying on the war at the greateft 
diftance. It is indeed an acknowledged fact; that 
during no effluxion of time was there ever fucri 
iconfiderable balances paid to England, as there 
were tranfmitted^ in the courfe of the war of 
1739, on the general ftate of her payments. 

The Englifh fhipping; which a&tially trans- 
ported that vail cargo of £.9,993,232, amounted 
annually to 476,941 tons ; which were navigated 
probably by 26,616 men, who might have beeri 
all engaged in the public fervice, either by influ- 
ence, or force; 



I 2 



Tkr§ 



II 6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

There had mean while been an equal progrefs 
in the augmentation of the royal navy ; which 
carried 

Tons. 

in 1727 — — 170,862 
in 1741 — _ 198,387 
in 1749 — — 228,215* 



Thus much being premifed, as to the ftate of 
our ftrength, we mall gain a fufficient knowledge 
of the condition of our navigation and commerce, 

* An admiralty-lift, in the Paper-office, gives us the fol- 
lowing detail of the King's (hips in fea-pay, on the 19th July 
1738. 

Ships. 

Stationed in the Plantations - 24 carrying 5,045 men, 



in the Mediterranean, 17 - - 5,011 

at Newfoundland, 3 - 690 

Ordered home, - 4 - 720 

On the Irilh coaft,^ - - 6 - - 550 

At home, - - - 41 ~ - 9,602 



95 - 23,618 mariners. 



Bv preparations for a naval war, tha foregoing lift had been 
fwelled, before March 1739, t0 H7 ^P s » carrying 38,849 
men. But their numbers were defective, in 4,758 borne, and 
in 5,6i8 muttered. — From the fame authority, we have the 
following abftract of the royal navy in June 1748 ; which, 
when compared with the lift of 1738, gives us an idea fuffi- 
ciently precife of the fleet of England, during the war of 1739. 

It confirmed of - - - 89 fhips of the line, 
of - - - 153 frigates. 



irien was 60,654. 



2425 whofe complement of 
during 



THE STRENGTH OF C. BRITAIN. llj 



during 


the war ot 1739, D y 


attending 


to the fub- 


joined 


detail of our mercan 


tile fhipping and car- 


goes : 








Years. 


Ships cleared outwards 




Value of cargoes. 




| Tons EnglMh. D° foreign. 


Totah 




37 \ 


> 476,941 - 26,627 - 


■ 5°3>5 ^ 


9^993^o 2 




1 






'739] 


| 3 s 4i T 9 x - 87,260 - 




- 8,870,499 


40 , 


47^45 1 


41 - 








1744 


373> Sl 7 - 7^849 - 


446,666 


- 9,190,62-1 


«747 


394,571 - 101,671 - 


• 496,242 


- 937753340 


1748 


*JSb£36 - 75,477 - 


554/713- 


■ 1 1,141,202 



Thus the year 1744 marked the ultimate point 
of commercial depreftion, if we may judge from 
the tonnage 3 and 174^, if we draw our inference 
from the value of exports: Yet, whether we argue 
from the one year, or from the other, we mulf. 
conduce, that the intereft of merchants was little 
injured, if it were not promoted, by this naval 
w r ar. 

But, we fhall at once fee how little our induf- 
trious claffes had been oppreffed by the war, at 
home, and with what elafticity the fpring of foreign 
trade rebounded on the removal of warfare, by 
comparing the averages of our navigation and 

I 3 commerce, 



?lS AN ESTIMATE Of 

commerce, during the peaceful years, before horti- 
lities began, and after they ended ; 

Years. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes. 

$736! Tons Englifh. D° foreign. Total. £. 

37 \ 47^941 - 26,627 - 593*568 - 9,993,232 

1749 
SO 

5 1 . 



609,798 - 51,386 - 661,124- 1 2^599^1 1 2 



During the foregoing fifty years of uncommon 
profperity, as to our agriculture * and manufac- 
ture, pur navigation, and traffic, and credit, the 
incumbrances of the public, and the hurden& of 
{he people, equally continued to increafe. The 
debt, which was left at the demife of Queen Anne, 
remained undiminished in its capital at the demifp 
pf George I. though the annuity pa.yab.le on it 
had been leffened almpft a million. The ten 

* It appears, by an account laid before the Parliament, 
that there had been exported in } pbi years, from 1744 to 1748, 
corn from England to the amount of 3,768.444 quarters: 
which, at a medium of price*, was worth to this nation, 
£.3,007,9^.8. Now, the average of the five years is 753,689 
quarters yearly, of the value of £.1,601,589. The expor- 
tation of 1749 and 17-0 rofe ftill higher. «' This is an im- 
menfe fum," fays the compiler of the Annual Regiiler, 
[1772, p. 197] ''to fio.v immediately from the produce of 
the earth, and the labour of the people ; enriching our mer- 
chants, and increafing an invaluable breed of feamen." Ke 
might have added, with equal propriety, enriching our yeo- 
manry) and increafing the ufefitl bretd of labourers dependant at 

yean 



¥he strength or c. brttaiw. 119 

years of fubfequent peace having made little al- 
teration, the public debt amounted, on the 31ft of 
December 1738, to - - £.46,661,767 
on the 31ft of December 1749, 

to - * 74,221,686 



—whence we perceive, by an eafy calculation, 
*hat an additional debt had been mean while 
incurred, of £.2.7,559,919, beiides unfunded 
debts to a confiderable amount. But, the nine 
years war of 1739 coft this nation upwards 
of fixty-four millions, without gaining any object; 
becaufe no valuable object can be gained -by the 
generality of wars, which, as they often commence 
without adequate caufe, end ufually without much 
deliberation, it is to be lamented, when hoftilities 
ceafe, that the party, which forces die nation to 
begin them, without real provocation, is not com- 
pelled to pay the expencc. 

The current of wealth, which had flowed into 
the nation, during the obftructions of war, con- 
tinued a (till more rapid courfe, on the return of 
peace. The taxes produced abundantly, becaufe 
an induftrious people were able to confume li- 
berally. And the fijrpkfes of all the imports, 
after paying the intereft of debts, amounted to 

1,274,1 72 1- The coffers of the rich began to 

* Hiflory of Debts, and J. Poftlethwayt's Hiftory of the 
Public Revenue. 

f Hiilory of Debts from an Exchequer account. 

* 4 overflow. 



I 20 



AN ESTIMATE 07 



overflow. Circulation became ftill more rapid. 
The intereft of money, which had rifen during the 
preflures of war to four per cent, fell to three, when 
the cefTation of hoftilities terminated the loans to 
government. The adminiftration feized this pros- 
perous moment to reduce, with the confent of the 
proprietors, the intereft of almoft fifty-eight million 
of debts from four per cent, to three and a half, 
during feven years, from 1750, and afterwards to 
three per cent, for ever. And by thefe prudent mea- 
fures, the annuity payable to the creditors of the 
ftate was leiTened, in the years 1750 and 1751, 
from £. 2,966,000 to £. 2,663,000 *. 

It v/as at this fortunate epoch, that Lord Bo- 
lingbroke wrote Some Confederations on the State of 
the Nation j in which he reprefents the public as on 
the verge of bankruptcy ', and the people as ready to 
Jail into cbnjitfion y from their diftrefs and danger. 
Little did that illuftrious party-man know, at leaft 
little was he willing to own, how much both the 
public and the people had advanced, from the 
time when he had been driven from power, in ali 
that can make a nation profperous and great. 
Dcddingtcn at the fame time — " faw the country 
in fo dangerous a condition, and found himfelf fo 
incapable to give it relief f," — that he refigned a 
lucrative office from pure difintereflednefs. And 
the lecond edition of Richardfon's EJfay on the 
Caujes of the Decline of Foreign Trade, was oppor- 

* J. Poftlethwayt's Hiftory of the Revenue, p. 238. 
f Diary, March 174.9 — 50, &c, 

tunely 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 121 

timely publifhed, with additional arguments, in 
1750, to evince to the world the caujes of an effeff, 
that did not exift. 

State and wealth, the bufinefs, and the crowd, 
Seem, at this diltance, but a darker cloud ; 
And are to him who rightly things efteems, 
No other in efea than what it feems. 

Notwithftanding all that apparent profperity and 
augmentation of numbers, we ought to mention, 
as circumftances, which probably may have retarded 
the progrefs of population, the Spanim war of 
1727, that was not, however, of long continuance. 
The fettle ment of Georgia, in 1733, carried off a 
few of the loweft orders, the idle, and the needy. 
The real hoftiiities, that began in 1739, were pro- 
bably attended with much more baneful confe- 
quences. The rebellion of 1745 introduced a 
temporary diforder, though there were drawn from 
its confufions, meafures the moft falutary, in refpecb 
to induftry, and population. <c Let the country 
gentlemen," fays Corbyn Morris, when fpeaking 
on the then mortality of London [March 1750-1] 
4t be calif d forth and declare — Have they not con- 
tinually felt, for many years pah:, an increafmg want 
of hufbandmen and day-labourers ? Have the far- 
mers throughout the kingdom no jufl complaints 
of the exceffrce increafing 'prices of workmen, and of 
the impoiTibility of procuring a furncient number 
at any price V* 

Now, admitting the truth of thefe pregnant af- 
firmations, they may be Ihewn to have been alto- 
gether 



S22 AN ESTIMATE OF 

gether confident with facts, and with principles. 
Allowing his many years to reach to the demife of 
George I, it may be aflerted, becaufe it has been 
proved, that our agriculture had been fo muck 
improved, as not only to fupply domeftic wants, 
but even to furnim other nations with the means 
of fubfiftence ; and that every branch of our ma- 
nufactures had kept pace with the fiou riming ftate 
of our hufbandry. It is furely demonstrable, that 
it required a greater number of artificers to manu- 
facture commodities of the value of £. 1 1,141,202, 
and to navigate 5 54,7 1 3 tons of Ihipping, in 
1748, than to fabricate goods of the value of 
j£. 7,951,772, and to navigate 456,483 tons of 
ihipping, in 1728. But, great demand creates a 
fcarcity of all tilings ; which in the end procures 
an abundant fupply. And, that the £xcejjive prices of 
workmen did in fact produce a fufBcient reinforce- 
ment of workmen, may be inferred from the num- 
bers which, in no long period, were brought into 
action, by public and private encouragement. 

We fee in familiar life, that when money is ex- 
pended upon works of uncommon magnitude, in 
any village, or parifh, labourers are always collected, 
in proportion to the augmentation of employ- 
ments. Experience mews, that the fame increafe 
of the induitrious dalles never fails to enfue in 
larger districts $ in a town, a -county, or a king- 
dom, when proportional fums are expended for 
labour. And it is in this manner, that manufac- 
tures and trade every where augment, the numbers 

of 



THE STRENGTH OF C. BRITAIN, 1 2 J 



of mankind, by the afrive expenditure of produc- 
tive capitals. He, then, who labours to evince, 
that the lower orders of men decreafe in numbers, 
while agriculture, the arts (both ufeful and orna- 
mental) with commerce, are advancing from in- 
confide rable beginnings, to unexampled greatnefs, 
Is only diligent to prove, That caufes do not pro- 
duce their effefis : 

As women, who yet apprehend 
Some fudden caufe of canfelefs fear, 
Although that feeming caufe take end, 
A fhaking through their limbs ftill had. 

To thofe reafons of profperity, that, having for 
years exifted, had thus produced the moft benefi- 
cial effects, prior to the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
new encouragements were immediately added* 
The reduction of the intereft of the national debts, 
by meafures altogether confident with juftice and 
public faith, mewed not only the flourishing con- 
dition of the kingdom, but alfp tended to make it 
fiourilh. (till more. And there neceffarily followed 
all thofe lalutary conferences, in refpeel: to do- 
meftic diligence, and foreign commerce, which, Sir 
Jofiah Child had infifted a century before, would 
reful t from the lownefs of intereft. 

An additional incitement was at the fame time 
given tq the whale-filhery, partly by the naturali- 
zation of fkilful foreigners, but more by pecuniary 
bounties. The eflablifhment of the corporation of 
The Free Britijb Fifoery } in 1750, muft have pro- 
S * moted 



124 A» ESTIMATE OF. 

moted population, by giving employment to the 
induftrious claries, however unprofitable the project 
may have been to the undertakers, whofe fuccefs 
was unhappily fo unequal to their good intentions 
and unrecompenfed expences. The voluntary fo- 
ciety, which was entered into in 1754, for the En- 
couragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, 
muft have been attended with Hill more beneficial 
effects, by animating the fpirit of experiment and 
perfeverance. And the laws, which were fuccefiive- 
ly enacted, and meafures purfued, from 1732 to 
1760, fir preventing the exceffive ufe of Jprituous li- 
quor s y muft have promoted popuioufneis, by pre- 
ferring the health, and inciting the diligence, of 
the lower orders of the people. 

Yet, thefe ftatutes, falutary as they muft have 
been, did not promote the health and numbers of 
the people, in a more eminent degree, than the laws, 
which were palled, during the fame period, for 
making more eafy communications by the im- 
provement of roads. We may judge of the necef- 
fity of thefe acts of legiflation from the penalties 
annexed to them. Of the founderous condition of 
the roads of England, while they were amended 
by the compulfive labour of the poor, we may 
judge indeed from the wretched ftate of the ways 
which, in the prefent times, are kept in repair by 
the ancient mode. Turnpikes, which we faw firft 
introduced, foon after the Reftoration, were erected 
(lowly, in oppofition to the prejudices of the people. 
The act, which for a time made it felony, at the 
7 beginning 



TllE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. I2J 

beginning of the reign of George II. to pull down 
a toll-gate, was continued as a perpetual law, be- 
fore the conclufion of it. Yet, the great roads of 
England remained almoft in their ancient condi- 
tion, even as late as 1752 and 1754, when the 
traveller feldom faw a turnpike for two hundred 
miles, after leaving the vicinity of London*. 
And we now know from experience how much the 
making of highways and bridges advances the 
population of any country, by extending corre- 
spondence, by facilitating communications, and, 
confequently, by promoting internal traffic, which 
was thereby rendered greater than our foreign; 
fince the beft cufloiners of Britain are the pecple of 
Britain. 

* See the Gentleman's Magazine 1752 — 54. 



Chap. 



126 



AN ESTIMATE frt* 



Chap. VIII. 

A captious Peace produced a new War. — The Re- 
sources of Britain. — Trade projpers amidft Hoftili- 
ties. — Its Amount at the Peace of 1763* — Re- 
marks. 

AF T E R a captious peace of very ftiort dura- 
tion, the flames of war, which for feveral/ 
years had burnt unfeen among the American 
•woods, broke out at length in 1755. Unfortunate 
as thefe hoftilities were at the beginning, they yet 
proved fuccefsful in the end, owing to caufes, 
which it is the province of hiftory to explain; 

However fafhionable it then was for difcontented 
ftatefmen to talk * of the consuming condition of 
the country, it might have been inferred before- 
hand, that we had prodigious refources, if the 
ruling powers had been animated by any genius. 
The defeats, which plainly followed from mifcon- 
ducl, naturally brought talents of every kind into 
action. And the events of the war of 1756 con- 
vinced the world, notwithstanding every efiimate of 
the manners and principles of the times, that the 
ftrength of Great Britain is irrefiftible, when it is 

♦ See Doddiugton's Diary, j 7 55—6 — 7. 

eondufteci 



THE STRENGTH OP G. BRITAIN. i<2f 

conduced with fecrecy and difpatch, with wifcknis 
and energy. 

When Brackenridge was> upbraided by Fofter> 
for making public degrading accounts of our po- 
pulation, at the commencement of the war of 
*755> nc a^ked, juftly enough, cc What encourage* 
went can it give to the enemy to knovo y that we have 
iwo millions of fighting men in our Britijh ijlands V* 
But we had afluredly in our Britifh iflands a million 
more than Brackenridge unwillingly allowed, 

The numbers and fpirit of our people were 
amply fupported by the augmented refburces of 
the nation. The natural intereft of money, which 
had been 3 'per cent, at the beginning of chis reign, 
never rofe higher than £.3. 13 s. 6 a 7 , at the con- 
dufion of it, after an expenfive courfe of eight 
years hoftilities. During the two firft years of the 
war, the minifters borrowed money at 3 per cent* 
But, five millions being lent to the adminiftratior* 
in 1757, the lenders required 4I per cent* And 
from the former punctuality of government, and 
prefent eafe, with which taxes were found to pay 
the ftipulated intereft, Great Britain commanded 
the money of Europe 3 when the prefTares of war 
obliged France to flop the payment of intereft on 
feme of her funded debts. 

Mean time the furplufes of the ftand'ing taxes 
of Great Britain amounted, at the commencement 
of the war, to one million three hundred thoufand 
pounds, which, after the reduction of the intereft 
of debts in 1757, fwelled to one million fix hun- 
dred 



n8 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



dred thoufand pounds. And from this van; cur- 
rent of income, the more fcanty ftreams, which 
flowly flowed from new imports, were continually 
fupplied, during the exigencies of war. 

It is the expences, more than the (laughter, of 
modern hoftilities, which debilitate every commu- 
nity. The whole fupplies granted by Parliament, 
and raifed upon the people, during the reign of 
George II. amounted * to £. 183,976,624. 

The fupplies granted, during the five years of the 
war, before the deceafe of that prince, amounted 
to l-S±>2 l 9^S 

The fupplies voted, during the 
three firft years of his fucceflbr, 
amountedfto - - 5 r >437>3i4 

The principal expences of a war, 
which, having been undertaken 
to drive the French from North 
America, has proved unfortu- 
nate in the iffue - - £ 105,756,639 

Yet, none of the taxes that had been eftablifhed, 
in order to raife thofe vaft fums, bore heavy on the 
induftrious claries, if we except the additional ex- 
cife of three Ihillings a barrel on beer J. And, 

whatever 

* Camp. Pol. Sur. vol. ii. p. 551. 
f Id. 

X That the confumption of the great body of the people 
was not leflened, in conference of the war, we may certainly 

infer 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. Ilg 

whatever burdens may have been impofed, internal 
induitry purfued its occupations, and the enter- 
prize of our traders fent to every quarter of the 
glob?, merchandizes to an extent, which were be- 
yond all former example. 

There were exported annually, during the firft 
years of the war, furplufes of our land and labour, 
to the amount of £.11,708,515*; which, being 
fent abroad from time to time, to different markets, 
as demand required, might have been all applied, 
(as fome of them undoubtedly w^ere) in paying the 

infer from the official details, in the Appendix to The Obfer- 
vations on the State of the Nation : 

The average of eight years nett produce of the 

duty on foap, be. ending with 1754. " * £.228,114 
Ditto, - - ending with 1767 - - 264,902 

Ditto on candles, - ending with 1754 - - £. 136,073 
Ditto on ditto, - ending with 1767 - 1 - 155,716 

Ditto, on hides, - ending with 1754 - - £.168,200 
Ditto on ditto, - ending with 1767 - - 189,216 



As no new duties had been laid on the before- mentioned 
neceffaries of life, the augmentation of the revenue evinces 
an increafe of confuniption ; confequently of comforts; and 
confequently of people. In confirmation, let it be confidered 
too, that the hereditary and temporary excife produced, according 
to an eight years average, ending with 1754 - £• S 2 S'3 1 7 
^ itt0 » " ending with 1767 - 538,542 



* There were moreover exported from Scotland, according 
to an average of 1755—6—7, goods to the value of £.663,4x31 



K 



fleets 



13© AN ESTIMATE OF 

fleets and armies,- that made conquefts in evetf 
quarter of the globe. 

The Englifh {hipping^ which* after exporting 
that vail cargo, might have been employed by 
government as tranfports, and certainly furniihed 
the fleet with a hardy race, amounted to 609,798 
tons; which muft have been navi- 
gated, if we allow twelve men to 
every 200 tons burden, by - 36,588 men, 



We may determine, with regard to the progrels 
and magnitude of the royal navy, from the follow- 
ing ftatement : 

Sailors voted by 
Tonnage. iParlianjent. Their Wages, kc, 

In 1749 - 228,215 - 17,000 - £. 839,800 
1754 - 226,246 - 10,000 - 494,000 
1760 - 300,416 - 70,000 - 3,458,000 

It is the bom of Britain, <c that while other 
countries frittered innumerable calamities, during 
that long period of hoftilities> this happy iiland 
efcaped them ail ; and cultivated, unmolefted, her 
manufactures, her fifheries,< and her commerce, to 
an amount, which has been the wonder and envy 
of the world." This flattering picture of Doctor 
Campbell will, however, appear to be extremely 
like the original, from an examination of the fub- 
fequent details; which are more accurate in their 
notices, and ftill more juft in their conclufions. 
Compare, then, the following averages of our na- 
vigation 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. IJt 

vigation and traffic, during the fubjoined years* 
both of peace and of war : 

Years. Ships cleared outwarJs. Value of cargoes. 

1749 ") " r ° ns Englifti. V foreign. Total. £. 

50 £609,798 - 5 i ? j86 - 661,184 - 12,599;! 12 

5 1 J 

*755 7 

56 U5 T ^54 - 73>4S6 " 5 2 4>7 XI - 11,708,515 

57 J 

1760 471,241 - 112,737 - 573>97 8 " 

61 508,220- 117,835 -626,055 - J 4^73,i94 

62 480,444-120,126 -600,570- 13,546,171 



Thus, the year 1756 marked the lowerl point 
of the deprefllon of commerce j whence it gra- 
dually rofe, till it had gained a fuperiority over the 
unexampled traffic of the tranquil years 1749-50- 
51, if we may judge from the value of exports; 
and almoft to an equality, if we draw our inferences 
from the tonnage of fhipping. The Spanifh war 
of 1762 impofed an additional weight, and v/e 
have feen the confequent decline. 

When, by the treaty of Paris, entire freedom 
was again reftored to foreign commerce, the traders 
once more fent out adventures of a ftill greater 
amount to every quarter of the world, though the 
nation was fuppofed to be {trained, by too great 
an exertion of her powers. The falutary effects of 
more extenfive manufactures and a larger trade 
were inftantly feen in the commercial fuperiority 

K 2 of 



T32 Att ESTIMATE OF 

of the three years following the pacification rjf 
l 7&3i over thofe enfuing the peace of 1748* 
though thefe have been celebrated juftly as times 
of uncommon profperiry. We ihall be fully con- 
vinced of this fatisfa&ory truth, if we examine the 
following proofs : 

Years. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes. 

I749 *) Tons Engiifh. D° foreign. Total. /. 

50 > 609,798 - 5 1,386 - 661,184 - 12,599,1 I 2 

5* J 

1 75 8 3 8 9^4~ - 116,002- 505,844- 12,618,335 

1759 406,335 - 121,016-527,351 - 13,947,788 
1764] 

65 > 639,872 - 6S 3 i^6 - 708,008 - u.,925,950 

66 J— ~ p. ■ 1— 

The grofs income of the Pott-office, foreign and 
domeitic, which, it is faid, can alone demonftrdte the 
exfefti of cur ccrrejpcndence, amounted, 

In 1754, to - - £. 210,663 
In 1764, to 281,535*. 



In the midfl of that unexampled profperiry and 
accumulation of private wealth, Hume talked, in 
——his hifrory, of the pernicious practice of borrowing 
on parliamentary Jecurity ; a practice, fays he, the 
more likely to become pernicious the mere a nation 
^gdvdncp in opulence and credit, and now threatens the 

* The account of the Pofl-ofRce revenue is ftated, by the 
Annual Regiiter j 773> much higher, miftakingly, 

/ very 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. J33 

very exifience of the nation. Even the grave Black- 
ftone, who feems to have been infected by the 
declamations of the times, wrote of its being indis- 
putably certain, in 1765, that the prefent magni- 
tude of our national incumbrances very far exceeds 
all calculations of commercial benefits, and is pro- 
ductive of the greater! inconveniencles by the enor- 
mous taxes, that are raifed upon the necelTaries of 
life, for the payment of the iritereft of the debt $ 
and thofe taxes weaken the internal ftrength of a 
ftate, by anticipating thofe refources, which mould 
be referved to defend it in cafe of neceflity *. Such 
ientiments, from fuch men, proceed partly from a 
narrow view of the fubjecl:, and perhaps more from 
well-meaning defires to do national good, by raif- 
ing public apprehenfions, with regard to the fecu- 
rity of property, and the fafety of the ftate. 

To laugh, were want of goodnefs and of grace ; 
And to be grave, exceeds all power of face. 

* Commentaries, vol. i. p. 328, 4th edjt. 



Chap, 



134 AN ESTIMATE CF 



Chap. IX. 

The Commercial Failures > in 1763. — Opinions thereon. 
— The true State of the Nation.— Ob, r erv at ions on 
the Tea; of 1763. — Various haws for promoting 
domefic Improvements.— Satisfactory Proofs of our 
Commercial Prosperity, at the Epoch of the Colo- 
nial Revolt. — Tet, were our 'Trade and Shipping 
popularly reprefented as -much on the Decline. 

IT was at that fortunate epochs that Great Bri- 
_j£am 5 having carried conquer! over the hoftile 
powers of the earth, by her arms, faved Europe 
from bankruptcy, by the fuperiority of her opu- 
lence, and by the clLGntereftednefs of her fpirit. 
The failures, which*happened at Berlin, at Ham- 
burgh, and in Holland, during July 1763, com- 
municated difmay and diflruft to every commercial 
town- on die European continent*. Wealth, it 
is faid> no longer procured credit, nor connection 
any more gained confidence : The merchants of 
Europe remained for fome time in confirmation^ 
becaufe every trader feared for himfelf^ amidft the 

* See the defpondent letter from the bankers of Hamburgh 
to the bankers of Amfterdam, dated the 4th of Auguft 1763, 
an the Gentleman's Magazine of this year, p. 422. 



ruins 



THE STRENGTH OF G* BRITAIN". Ijj 

rains of the greateft houfes. It was at this crifis, 
that the Bririfh traders fhewed the greatnefs of 
their -capitals, the extent of their credit, and their 
difregard of either lofs, or gain, while the mercan- 
tile world feemed to pais away as a winter's cloud ; 
They truiled correfpondents, whofe fituations were 
extremely unliable, to a greater amount than they 
had ever ventured to do, in the mofc profperous 
times : And they made vail remittances to thofe 
commercial cities, w r here the deeper! diftrefs was 
fuppofed to prevail, from the determination of the 
wealthier! bankers to fuipend the payment of their 
own acceptances. At this crifis the Bank of Eng- 
land difcounted bills of exchange to a great amount, 
while every bill was fufpecled, as being of doubtful 
reiponfiblenefs. And the Britifh government, with 
a wife policy, actuated and fupported all *. 

On that proud day was publifhed, however, 
cc An Alarm to the Stockholders." By another writer 
the nation was remembered of « the decreafe of the 
current coin, as a moft dangerous circumftance" 
And by an author, ftill more confiderable than 
either, we were infrrucled — " How the abilities of 
the country were ftretched to their utmoft ex- 
tent, and beyond their natural tone, whilft trade 

* See Confiderations on the Trade and Finances of the 
Kingdom. Yet, there were only, in England, 233 bankrupt- 
cies, during 1763, and 301, during 1 764. Of bankruptcies, 
^here were, in England, during 1773 — 562, and during 1793 
— -1304. — -Thus, it is by companion, that we gain accurate 
knowledge* 

K 4 fufFered 



AN ESTIMATE OF 

fuffered in proportion: For, the price both of la- 
bour and materials was enhanced by the number 
and weight of the new taxes, and by the extraor- 
dinary demand, which the ruin of the French na- 
vigation brought on Great Britain ; whereby rival 
nations may be now enabled to under-fell us at 
foreign markets, and rival us in our own : That 
both public and private credit were at the fame 
time opprerTed by the rapid increafe of the na- 
tional debt, by the fcarcity of money, and the high 
rate of intereft, which aggravated every evil, and 
aftecled every money tra^fadion/'Ar-Sych is the 
melancholic picture, which was exhibited of our 
commercial fituation, foon after the peace of 1763, 
by the hand of a mafter *, who probably meant 
to fketch a caricature, rather than to draw a 
portrait. 

If, however, the rejources of Britain arife chiefly 
from the labour of Britain, it may be eafily fhewn, 
that there never exifted in this ifland fo many 
dufiriou s people as after the return of peace, in 1763. 
It is not eafy, indeed, to calculate the numbers, 
who die in the camp, or in battle, more than would 
otherwife perifh from want, or from vice, in the 
city, or hamlet. It is fome confolation, that the 
laborious claffes are too wealthy to covet the pit- 
tance of the foldier, or too independent to court 
the dangers of the failor. And though the for- 
faken lover, or the reftlefs vagrant, may look for 

* Confideraticns on the Trade and Finances of the King- 
dom, p. 3. 

refuge 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. %%J 

refuge in the army or the fleet, it may admit of 
fome doubt, how far the giving of proper em- 
ployment to both, may not have freed their parifhes 
from difquietude and from crimes. There is, 
therefore, no room, to fuppofe, that any one left 
the anvil, or the loom, to follow the idle trade of 
war, during the hoftilities of 1756, or that there 
were lefs private income and public circulation, 
after the re-eftablifhment of peace, than at any 
prior epoch. For, it muft undoubtedly have re- 
quired a greater number of artificers to produce 
merchandizes for foreign exportation, after feed- 
ing and cloathing the in- 
habitants, to the value 

of - - - ^.14^94,97° i7 6o > 
than it did to fabricate 

the value of - - 12,599,112 - in 1750, 
Jt muft have demanded 
a ftill greater number 
of hands to work up 
goods for exportation 

of the value of - 16,512,404-^11764, 
than it did to manufac- 
ture the value of - 14*873,191 - in 176 r. 



A grater 



IjS A N ESTIMATE OF 

A greater number of fea- 
men muft furely have 

•t i ! Tons of national 

oeen employed to na- fhippiwg. 

vigate and repair - - 47 1^241 - in 1760^ 

than - - 451,254 - in 1756* 

And a Mill greater num- 
ber to man and repair - 651,402 - in 1765, 

than - - . - - 609^98*- in 1750. 



Yet, 



* It is acknowledged, that Scotland furnifhed a greater 
number of recruits for the fleets and armies of Britain, during 
£he war of 1756, than England, conlidering the fr^aller num- 
ber of her fighting men. Yet, by this drain, the induftrious 
elaifes feem not to have been in the leaft diminifhed. For of 
linen there were made for fale, 

in 1758 - - 10,624,435 yards. 

in 1760 - - 1 1 ,747,728 



Of the augmentation of the whole products of Scotland de- 
ling the war, we may judge from the following detail: The 
yalue of merchandizes exported from Scotland, 

in 1756 £. 663,401 

60 - - 1,086,205 
64 - - i>H3>9 2 7 



There were exported yearly, of Brinjb-mar.ufaaured linens* 
according to an average of feven years of peace, from 1749 
to 1755 " - - - 57^373 y ar ds» 

pitto, according to an average of feven years 

of fubfeciuent war, from 1756 to 1762 1,355,226 



Having thus discovered, that the fword had not been put inta. 
ufiful hands, let us take a view of the great vroollen manu- 

factories 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. I39 

Yet, it muft be confefTed, that however the 
-people individually may have been employed, thk 
ftate corporately was embarrafTed in no fmall, de- 
gree, by the debts, which had been contracted by 
a war, glorious, but unprofitable. Upwards of 
fifty-eight millions had been added to our funded 
debts, before we began to negociate for peace in 
1762. When the unfunded debts were afterwards 
brought to account, and affigned an annual in- 
tereft, from a fpecific fund, the whole debt, which 
was incurred, by the hoftilities of 1756, fwelled to 
£.72,111,000. And when every claim on the 
public, for the war's expences, was honeflly fatisfied, 
the national debt amounted to - £. 1 46, 6 8 2 , 8 44^ 



which yielded the creditors, to whom it was due, 
an annuity of - £.4,850,821. 



Though it is the intereft, and not the capital *, 
that conftitutes the real debt of the ftate, yet this 

annuity 

factories of England, with an afpecl: to the fame exhilarating 
fubjeft. The value of woollen goods exported, 

in 1755 - - 'imrs&w 

57 - 4,758,095 

58 4,673,462 

59 - - 5>35 2 > 2 99 

60 - - 5453^72 



* Writers have been carried of late, by their zeal of pa- 
triotifm, to demand the payment of the principal of the debt* 

though 



J40 AN ESTIMATE OF 

annuity was, doubtlefs, a heavy incumbrance or* 
the land and labour of this ifland : And however 
bordenfome, it was not the only weight that ob- 
ilrucled, in whatever degree, the induftricus claffes, 
in adding accumulation to accumulation. The 
charge of the civil government was then calculated 
as an expence to the people of a million. Ana the 
peace eftablifhment, for the army, navy, and mif- 

though the intere-fc be punctually paid; as if the nature of 
tjie cgritracT: between the individual and the Jlate had ftipulaied 
for the payment of both. The fa<fc is, that few lenders, fince 
King William's days, have expected re-payment of the capitals, 
which they lent to the government. The flecks, as the public 
securities of the Britifh nation are called, may be compared 
to the money tranlkctiens of the Bank of Amfterdam, as they 
have been explained by Sir James Stewart. No man who 
lodges treafure in this Bank, ever expeds to fee it again : 
put he may transfer the Bank receipt for it. The Directors of 
this L'ank difcovered from experience, that if the number of 
fillers of tWfe receipts Pnould at any time be greater than the 
buyers of them, ihe value of actual treafure fafely lodged would 
depreciate. And it is iuppofed, that thefe prudent managers 
employ brokers to buy up the Bank receipts, when they be- 
gin to fall in their value, from the fuperabundance of them 
on 'Change. Apply this rational explanation to the Britifh 
funds. No creditor of a funded debt can afk payment of the 
principal at the Treafury ; but, he may difpefe of his fcock 
in the Alley. The principles, which regulate demand and 
iupply, are equally applicable to the Britifh funds, as to the 
treafure in the Amfterdam Bank. If there be more fellers 
than buyers, the price of flecks will fall : If there be more 
buvers than fellers they will as naturally rife. And the time 
is now come, when the Britifh government ought to employ 
every pound, which can poifibly be faved, in buying up the 
principal oS foch public debts as pay the greateft intereft. 

cellaneou§ 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". I^t 

cellaneous fervices of lefs amount, though of as 
much ufe, may be fcated at three millions and a 
half, wichout entering into the controverfy of that _ 
changeful day, whether it was a few pounds more, 
or a few pounds lefs. If it aftonifhed Europe to 
fee Great Britain borrow, in cue year, twelve mil- 
lions, and to find taxes to pay the intereft of fuch 
a loan, amidft hofciliries of unbounded expence, 
it might have given the European world ftill higher 
ideas of the refources of Britain, to fee her fatbfy 
every claim, and re-eftablifh her financial affairs, 
in no long period after the conclufion of war. 

But, the acquifitions of peace proved, unhap- 
pily, more embarrafTing to the collective mafs of 
an induftrious nation, than the imports, which 
were conftantly collected, for paying the intereft 
of debts, and the charges of government. The 
treaty of 1763 retained Canada, Louisiana, and 
Florida, on the American continent ; the Gra- 
nades, Tobago, St. Vincent, and Dominica, in 
the Weft Indies ; and Senegal in Africa. With- 
out regarding other objects, -here was a wide field 
opened for the attention of intereft, and for the 
operations of avarice. Every man, who had credit 
with the minifters at home, or influence over the 
governors in the colonies, ran for the prize of 
American territory. And many land-owners in 
Great Britain, of no fmall importance, neglected 
the poffeflions of their fathers, for a portion of 
wildernefs beyond the Atlantic. This was the 
fpirit, which formerly debilitated Spain, more than 



AN ESTIMATE OF 

the Peruvian mines ; becaufe the Spaniards turned 
their affections from their country to the Indies* 
With a fimilar fpirit, millions of productive capital 
were withdrawn from the agriculture, and manu- 
factures, and trade of Great Britain j to cultivate 
the ceded iflands, in the ether hemifphere, Do- 
me flic occupations were obftructed confequently* 
and circulation was flopped, in proportion to the 
flocks withdrawn, to the induftry enfeebled, and 
to the ardour turned to lefs falutary objects. 

While the induftrious daffes of the people were 
thus individually injured in their affairs, the ftate 
fuffered equally in its finances. The new acqui- 
fitions required the charge of civil governments, 
which was provided for in the annual fupplies, 
but from taxes on the land and labour of this 
ifiand. To defend thofe acquifitions, larger and 
more expenhVe military eflabliihments became 
now neceffiiry, though our conquefb did not 
yield a penny In return *. And an additional 
drain being thus opened for the circulating mo- 
ney, the opulent men, who generally lend to go- 
vernment, enhanced the price of a commodity, 
which was thus rendered more valuable, by the 
inceflant demands of adventurers, who offered the 
ufurious intereft of the Indies f. The coins did 
not confequently overflow the coffers of the rich ; 

* There were feme fmall funis brought into the annual 
fupplies from the fale of lands in the ceded iilands* 

f It was a wife policy, therefore, to encourage foreigners 
to lend money on the fecurity of Weft India erlates. 

the 



THE STRENGTH CF G, BRITAIN. 

the price of the public funds did not rife, as at 
the former peace, when no fuch drain exited; 
and the government was unable to make bargains' 
for the public, in 1764, equally advantageous, as at 
the le.s fplendid epoch of 1750. 

In thefe views of an interefting fubjeet, the 
true objection to the peace of 1763 was not, that 
' we had retained too little* but that we had retained 
too much. Had the French been altogether ex- 
cluded from the fisheries of Labrador and New- 
foundland, and wholly reftored to every conqueft, 
the peace had been perhaps more complete. Whe- 
ther the minifters could have juftirled fuch a treaty* 
within the walls of Parliament, or without, is a 
consideration perfonal to them, and is an object, 
quite diftincl: in argument. Unhappy ! that a 
Britiih minifter, to defend himfelf from clamour, 
muft generally act againil the genuine intereft of 
his country. 

Fortunate it is, however, for Britain, that there 
is a fpirit in her induftry, an increafc in the accu- 
mulations of her induftrious claries, and a pru- 
dence in the ceconomy of her individual citizens, 
which have raifed her to greatnefs, and fuftairi 
her power, notwithstanding the wafte of wars, the 
blunders Gf treaties, and the tumults in peace. 
The people profpered at the commencement of 
the prefent reign. They profpered flilj more, when 
our colonies revolted. And this mod energetic 
nation continues with augmented powers to profper 
ftilL notwithftanding every cburuction. 



!44 AN ESTIMATE OF 

If this marvellous profperity arife, from the 
confcioufnefs of every one, that his per/on is free 
and his property fafe, owing to the fteady opera- 
tion of laws, and to the impartial adminift ration of 
juftice, one of the firft acts of the prefent reign 
muft be allowed to have given additional force 
to the falutary principle, A young Monarch, 
with an attachment to freedom, which merits the 
commendations, that pofterity will not withhold, 
recommended from the throne to make the judges 
commiffions lefs changeful, and their falaries more 
beneficial. The Parliament feconded the zeal of 
their Sovereign, in giving efficacy to a meafure, 
which had an immediate tendency to fe.cure every 
right of individuals, and to give ardour to all 
their purfuits. If we continue a brief review of 
the laws of the prefent reign, we fhall probably 
find, that, whatever may have been neglected, 
much has been done, for promoting the profperity, 
and populoufnefs, of this ifland. 

Agriculture ought to be the great object of our 
care, becaufe it is the broad foundation of every 
other eftablifhment. Yet, owing in fome meafure 
to the fcarcity of feafons, but much to the clamour 
of the populace, we departed, at the end of the 
late reign, from the fyftem w r hich, being formed at 
the Revolution, is faid to have then given verdure 
to our fields. During every feflion, from the 
demife of George II. a law was parTed for allow- 
ing the importation of fait provisions from Ire- 
land ; for difcontinuing the duties on tallow, but- 
ter, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAiN. i^f 

ter, hogs-lard, and greafe from Ireland ; till, in the 
progrefs of our liberality, we made thofe regu- 
lations perpetual, which were before only tempo- 
rary. We prohibited the export of grain, while 
we admitted the importation of it; till, in 177J5 
we fettled by a compromife, between the growers 
and confumers, a ftandard of prices, at which both 
mould in future be free*. If by the foregoing 
meafures the markets were better fupplied, the 
induftrious clafies muft have been more abun- 
dantly fed : if prices were forced too low, the 
farmers, and with them hufbandry, muft have both 
equally fullered. A fleady market is for the in* 
tereft of all parties, and ought therefore to be the 
aim of the legiflature. On this principle the Par- 
liament feems to have acted, when, by repealing the 
laws againft engrorTers, it endeavoured, in 1772, to 
give a free circulation to the trade in corn. On the 
other hand, various laws were paffed f, for pre- 
serving timber and underwood *, for encouraging 
the culture of fhrubs and trees, of roots and plants. 
And additional laws were palled for fecuring the 
property of the hufbandman in the produce of his 
fields, and confequently for giving force to his 
diligence. 

The dividing of commons, the inclofing of 
wades, the draining of marfhes, are all connected 
with agriculture. Not one law, for any of theft 

* 10 Geo. III. ch. 39; 13 Geo. III. ch. 43, 
f 6 Geo, III. ch. 36—48 ; 9 Geo. III. ch. 41, 

L valuable 



l&fi AN ESTIMATE OF 

valuable ends, was pafled in the warlike reign of 
King William. During the hoftilities of Queen 
Anne, eight laws indeed were enacted. In the 
reign of George I. feventeen laws were enacted for 
the fame falutary purpofes. In the three-and-thirty 
years of George II. 's reign, there were pafled a 
hundred and eighty- two laws, with the fame wile 
defign. But, during the firft fourteen feflions of 
the prefent reign, no fewer than feven hundred 
and two acts were obtained, for dividing of com- 
mons, inclofing of waftes, and draining of marfhes. 
In this manner was more ufeful territory added 
to the empire, at the expence of individuals, than 
had been gained by every war fince the Revolu- 
tion. In acquiring diftant dominions, through con- 
quer!:, the fliate is enfeebled, by the charge of their 
eftabliftiments in peace, and by the ftill more 
enormous debts, incurred in war, for their defence. 
In gaining additional lands, by reclaiming the 
wild, improving the barren, and appropriating the 
common, you at once extend the limits of our 
ifland, and make its foil more productive. Yet, 
a certain cfefs of writer* have been ftudious to 
prove, that, by making the common fields more 
fruitful, the legiflature has impoverished the poor*. 

Connected with agriculture too is the making 
of roads. The highways of Britain were not equal 

v* On the contrary, Mr. Howlet, vvbo cannot be too. much 
praifed for hfs refearches, on the fu'bjeft of population, has 
publiflied a pamphlet, which proves fatisfa&orily, fehat inclo/ures 
promote the in create of the people. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN 1 . I47 

in goodnefs to thofe of foreign countries, when the 
peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was concluded. From 
this epoch to the demife of George II. great exer- 
tions were certainly ufed to fupply the inconve- 
nient defect. The firft fourteen feffions of the 
prefent reign are diftinguifhed, not only for col- 
lecting the various road- laws into one act, but for 
enacting no fewer than four hundred and fifty-two 
ads for repairing the' highways of different dis- 
tricts. If, by this employment cf many hands, 
nothing was added to the extent of our country, 
every field, and every village, within it, were 
brought, by a more eafy conveyance, nearer to 
each other. 

In the fame manner canals facilitate agriculture* 
and promote manufactures, by offering a mode 
of carriage at once cheaper and more certain, 
A veiy early attention had been paid to the navi- 
gation of our rivers: from the Revolution to the 
demife of George II. many ftrcams had been 
made navigable. But, a ftill greater number have 
been rendered more commodious to commerce, in 
the prefent reign, exclufive of the yet more valua- 
ble improvement of canals. And, during the firrl; 
fourteen fefTions of this reign, nineteen acts were 
paued for making artificial navigations, including 
thofe flupendous works, the Bridgewater, the 
Trent, and the Forth, canals ; which, by joining 
the Eaftern and Weftern feas, and by connecting 
almofl every manufacturing town with the capital* 
smulate the Roman labours. 



14^ Atf ESTIMATE Ctt 

In this period too, many of our harbours were 
enlarged, fecured, and improved: many of our 
cities, including the metropolis of our empire and 
our trade, were paved, cleanfed, and lighted. And, 
without including the bridges that have been built, 
and public edifices erected, the foregoing efforts 
for domeflic improvement can, with no truth, or 
propriety, be deemed the works of an inactive age, 
or of a frivolous people. 

If from agriculture we turn our attention to 
manufactures, we mall find many laws enacted for 
their encouragement, fome with greater efficacy, 
and fome with lefs. It was a wife policy to pro- 
cure the materials of our manufactures at the 
cheapefl rate. A tax was laid on foreign linens, 
in order to provide a fund, for raifing hemp and 
flax at home while bounties were given on thefe 
neceffary articles from our colonies, the bounty 
on the exportation of hemp was withdrawn. The 
impofts on foreign linen yarn were withdrawn* 
Bounties were given on Britifh linen cloth ex- 
ported j while the making of cambricks was pro- 
moted, partly by prohibiting the foreign, and partly 
by giving frefh incentives, though without fuccefs, 
to the manufacture of cambricks within our ifland. 
Indigo, cochineal, and log-wood, the neceffaries 
of dyers, were allowed to be freely .imported. 
And the duty on oak- bark imported was lowered, 
in order to accommodate the tanners. It is to be 
lamented, that the ftate of the public debts does 
not admit the abolition of every tax on materials 
6 of 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 149 

of manufacture, of whatever country : this would 
be a meafure fo much wifer, than giving prohibi- 
tions againft foreign manufactures, wnich never 
fail to bring with them the mifchiefs of monopoly j 
a worfe commodity, at a higher price. 

Such moderation with thy bounty join, 

That thou may'ft nothing give that is not thine. 

The importation of filks and velvets of foreign 
countries was, however, prohibited, while the wages 
and combinations of filk-weavers were reftrained, 
though the price of the goods was not regulated, 
in favour of the confumers. The workers in 
leather were equally favoured, by fimilar means. 
The plate-glafs manufacture was encouraged, by 
erecting a corporation for carrying it on with greater 
energy. The making of utenfils from gold and 
filver was favoured, by appointing wardens to de- 
tect every fraud. And the law, which had been, 
made, during the penury of King William's days, 
for preventing innkeepers from ufing any other 
plate than filver fpoons, was repealed in 17693 
when we had made a very extenfive progrefs in 
the acquifition of wealth, and in the tafte for eri* 
joying it. 

——Egypt with Aflyria flroye 
In wealth and luxury ^ 

The moft ancient ftaple of this ifland was, by 
prudent regulations in the fabricks of wool, Tent 
to foreign markets, better in quality, and at a 
Jower price* 

h 3 General 



XJO AN ESTIMATE OP 

General induft'ry was excited by various means* 
which probably had their effect. Apprentices^ 
and workers for hire, were placed under the juris- 
diction of magitrates, who were empowered to 
enforce by correction the performance of con* 
tracts. Sobriety was at the fame time preferved, 
by retraining the retail of fpirituous liquors. But, 
above all, that law muft have been attended with 
the mot powerful effect, which was made f< for 
the more effectual preventing of abufes by per- 
fons employed in the manufacture of hats, woollen, 
linen, futian, cotton, iron, leather, fur, hemp, flax, 
mohair, and filk s for retraining unlawful combi- 
nations of every one working in fuch manufac- 
tures ; and for the better payment of their wages." 
This law murt be allowed to contain the molt 
powerful incitements of the human heart; when 
we confider too, that the aflize of bread was at 
the fame time regulated. 

If from a review of manufactures we infpect 
our Hupping, we mail perceive regulations equally 
ufefuL The whale-fifheries of the river St. Law- 
rence and Greenland were encouraged bv boun- 
ties, together with the white herring fifhery along 
the coats of our ifland. Foreigners were ex- 
cluded, by additional penalties, from holding 
fhares in Rritifh mips. And oak-timber was pre- 
ferred, by new laws, for the ufe of the royal navy. 
The voyages of dilcovery, which do fo much honour 
to the prefent reign, though they did not proceed 
from any act of the legiflature, may be regarded 

as 



SHE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. I51 

35 highly beneficial to navigation whether we con- 
fider the improvement of nautical faience, or the 
prefervation of the manner's health. 

But, all thofe encouragements had been given 
in vain, had not the courfe of circulation been kept 
full and current, and the coin timefully reformed. 
New modes were prefcribed by Parliament for 
the recovery of fmall debts in particular diilricts. 
Additional remedies were adminiftered for reco- 
vering payment on bills and other mercantile fecu- 
rities in Scotland. And the i (Thing of the notes 
of bankers was rendered more commodious and 
fafe. The importation of the light filver coin of 
this realm was prohibited; and what was of more 
importance, every tender of Britifh filver coin, in 
the payment of any fum more than five- and- 
twenty pounds, otherwife than by weight, at five 
millings and two-pence per ounce, was declared 
unlawful* This admirable principle, fo jull in its 
theory, and fo wife in its practice, was, about th<$ 
fame time, applied to the gold coin. And the gold 
coins were recalled, and re- coined to an unex- 
pected amount, and ordered to pafs current by 
weight, according to the ancient courfe, rather than 
by tale, in conformity to modern practice. This 
meafure, which does equal honour to the contriver, 
to the advifer, and to the executor, has been at- 
tended with all the falutary effects, that were fore- 
told, as to our domeftic circulation, our foreign 
trade, and to out- money-exchanges with the com- 
mercial world. 

L 4 The 



l$2 AN ESTIMATE OF 

The laws, which were thus palled, from the 
acceflion of his prefent Majefty to the sera of the 
colonial revolt, had produced the moft beneficial 
efFecls on our agriculture and manufactures, on, 
our commerce and navigation, had not the ener- 
getic fpirit, that actuated our affairs, at the peace 
of 1763, continued to animate the induftrious 
claries, and to accumulate their daily acquisitions. 
If any one choofes to appeal from general reafon- 
ings to particular facts, let him examine the follow-? 
ing proofs : 

Tears. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes* 

J 764 "J Tons E^ifo' E° foreign. Total. £. 

6 5 i 639,872 - 68,136 - 708,008 - i4;9 2 5>950 

66 J 

5772] 

73 \ 795>943 - 64,232 - 860,175 - 15,613,003 
74J 

Thus, our navigation had gained, in the interve- 
nient period, more than a hundred and fifty thou- 
fand tons a year, and our foreign traffic had rifcq 
almcfl a million in annual worth. The grofs reve- 
nue of the poft-cfnce, which, arifing from a greater, 
or a lefs, con efpondence, forms, according to An- 
derfon, a politico- commercial index, amounted 

in 1764 - to - £. 281,535 
in 1774* to - 345,32** 



* But, the franking of letters had been now regulated, ano{ 
©ther improvements had been meantime made. 

Yet, 



*THI STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. IJJ 

Yet, profperons as our affairs had been, during 
the fhort exiftence of the peace of 1763, they 
were reprefented, by an analogous fpirit to that 
of 1738, either of defigning faction, or of unin- 
formed folly, as in an alarming fit nation. The 
ftate of things, it was faid, is approaching to an, 
awful crifis. The navigation and commerce, by 
which we rofe to power and opulence, are much 
an the decline. Our taxes are numerous and heavy, 
and provifions are dear. An enormous national 
debt threatens the ruin of public credit. Luxury 
has fpread its baneful influence among all ranks of 
people ; yet, luxury is necelfary to raife a revenue 
to fupply the exigencies of the ftate. Our labour- 
ing poor are forced by hard neceffity to feek that 
comfortable fubfiftence in diftant climes, which their 
indufhy at home cannot procure them. And the 
mother-country holds the rod over her children^ 
the colonies, and, by her threatening afpecl, is 
likely to drive them to defperate meafures % 

Th' alarm-bell rings from oar Alhambra walls, 
And, from the ftreets, found drums and atabalL 1 

f See Gent. Mag. 1774, p. 315, &c« 



C H A ?. 



i 



154 AN ESTIMATE OF 



Chap. X. 

The Colonial Revolt, — The State of the Nation. — 
Her Finances > Trade, and Shipping. — Her military 
Power. — The Lojfes of Trade from the War. — 
The Revival of Trade on the Re-eftablifhment of 
Peace. — Remarks thereon, — Financial Operations. 
— The Sinking Fund eftablifhed. — Its falutary Po- 
licy. 

TTTHENj owing to the native habits and ac- 
V V quired confidence of her colonies ; to the 
ancient neglects, and continued indulgence of Bri- 
tain; to the incitements of party-men, and to the 
imbecility of rulers ; the nation found herfelf at 
length obliged to enter into a ferious conteft with 
tier transatlantic provinces, Hie happily enjoyed 
all the advantages of a bufy manufacture, of a 
vigorous commerce, of a moft extenfive naviga- 
tion, and of a productive revenue. Of thefe ani- 
mating truths we mall receive fufficient conviction, 
By examining the following particulars : 

After liquidating every claim, fubfequent to the: 
peace of 1763, and funding every debt, by align- 
ing an half-yearly intereft for every principal, the 
public enjoyed an annual furplus from the public 
unpoils of two millions two hundred thoufand 

pounds, 



THE STRENGTH OP G. BRITAIN, 1$$ 

pounds, in 1764. From 1765 to 1770, this fink- 
ing fund accumulated to £.2,266,246. And from 
1770 to 1775, the furplufes of all our taxes 
amounted annually to the vaft fum of £. 2,6 5 1,45 5 ; 
which having rifen, in 1775 anc * 1776, to three 
millions and upwards, proved a never- failing re- 
fource, amid the financial embarraffments of the 
enfuing war. Thefe facts alone furnifh the moft 
fatisfactory evidence of the great confumption of 
the collective mafs of the people, and of their 
ability to confume, from their active labours and 
accumulating opulence. 

Yet, during the profperous period of the pcace 3 
there were only difcharged of the capital of the 
national debt * - - . ' £. io>739>793« 

And there remained, notwithstanding every di- 
minution, when the war of the colonies began, in 
1775, a national debt of - £. I 35>943>°5 1 » 

Whereon was paid to the public 

creditors an annuity of - £. 4,440,821 *. 



The price of the flock of the Bank of England 
rofe mean v/hile from 113 per cent, in July 1764, 
to 143 per cent, in July 1774: and difcounts on 
the bills of the navy fell from 6 J per cent, at the 
firft epoch, to 1 \ at the fecond. The reform of 
the coin turned the nominal exchanges on the fide 
of Britain, which were in fact favourable before 

* Dr, Price, and Sir J. Sinclair. 

hoftili- 



tg$ AN ESTIMATE ©F 

hoftilhies began, owing to the flouriming ftate of 
our trade, and the advantageous courfe of our 
general payments. And the price of bullion fell* 
becaufe the fupply was fuperior to the demand. 
From the foregoing notices, an able ftatefman might 
have inferred beforehand, that Great Britain never 
ponefTed fuch refources for a vigorous war. And 
this truth may be afferted, without fear of contra- 
diction, and without appealing to the immenfity 
of fubfequent fupplies, for unanfwerable proofs of 
the faft. 

The furplns produce of the land and labour of 
England alone, which, being exported to foreign 
countries, might have been applied to the ufes of 
-war, amounted to 1 5,613,003, according to an 
average of the years 1772 — 3— 4*. 

The Britifh fhipping, which were chiefly em- 
ployed in exporting this immenfe cargo, and which 
were eafiiy converted into tranfports, to armed 
fhips, and to privateers, amounted annually to 
795,943 tons: and this extenfive nurfery fu mimed 
the royal navy with mariners of unequalled fkili 
and bravery, during a naval war, in the laft year 
of which, the Parliament voted a hundred and ten 
thoufand feamen. 

We may calculate from the continual progrefs 
$n population, arifing from additional employ- 

^ There was moreover fent by fea from Scotland, at the 
fame time, an annual cargo of the value of £. 1,515,025, if 
we may believe the Curlom-houfe books. 



ments^ 



The strength of g. Britain". 157 

ments, that there were in this ifland, at the 
epoch of the colonial revolt, full 2,350,000 fighting 
men. 

By examining the following details, we mall 
acquire ideas fufftciently precife of the royal navy* 
both before and after the war of the colonies be- 
gan :— 

The royal fleet carried in 1754 — 226,246 tons* 
in 1760 — 300,416 
in 1774 — 276,046. 



Of the king's frrips, exifting in 1774, feveral 
Were found, on the day of trial, unfit for actual 
fervice. By an effort, however, which Britain 
alone could have made, there were added to the 
royal navy, during fix years of war, from 1775 to 
1781:— 

Veffels. Guns. Tons. 

Of the line, with fifties, 44 carrying 3,002 and 56,144* 
Twenties to forty-fours, 110 — 3,331 — 53»35-o 
Sloops - 160 — 2,555 — 37>i6o 

314 8,888 146,654 



By a fimilar effort, during fix years of the Re- 
volution-war, England was only able to add to 
her naval force 11,368 tons. And thus was there 
a greater fleet fitted out, during the uncommon 
embarraffments of the colony-war, than King 
William, or Queen Anne* or even than King 
George I. perhaps ever po (felled* Of thefe mips 



AN ESTIMATE OF 

we were unhappily deprived of feveral, cither by 
the misfortunes incident to navigation, or by the 
good fortune of our enemies. Yet, we had ia 
commiiTion, in January 1783, the fleet, the power 
of which will be moft clearly perceived from the 
following detail*; when it is remembered, that 
there were voted for the fervice of this year a hun- 
dred and ten thoufand feamen. 

Ships. Guns. Men. 

20 of - 80 to 108 - carrying 1.5,372 

44 of - 74 - - 26,112 

45 of - 60 to 68 - - 24,320 
18 of - 50 - - 5,468 

64 Frigates above 30 - ~ 1 3,7 6 5 

51 Ditto under 30 8,581 

110 Sloops of - 18, and under, - 11,360 
1 5 Firelhips and bombs. 
26 Armed (hips, hired. 



393 - Navigated by - - - 104,978 



Such was the naval force of Great Britain, which, 
after a violent flruggle, broke, in the end, the con- 
joined fleets of France, Spain, and Holland. The 
privateers of Liverpool, which have been already 

ftated, 

* The above ftatement, though in a different form, was 
officially laid before the Houfe of Commons, at the debate on 
the peace. Befides the (hips in the lift of the Navy-board, 
there were feventeen, from 60 to 98 guns, ready to be com- 
sainoned. Steel ftatefc in his Naval Chronology, the force 

of 



THE STRENGTH OF C. BRITAIN. 159 

ftated, alone formed a greater fleet than the armed 
colonies were ever able to equip. Owing to what 
fatality, or to what caufe, it was, that the vaft 
ftrength of Britain did not beat down the colonial 
infurgents, not in one campaign, but in three, it is 
the bufinefs of hiftory to explain, with narrative 
elegance, and profound remark. 

It is now time to enquire into the lofTes of our 
trade from the war of thofe colonies, which had 
been planted, and nurfed, with a mother's care, for 
the exclufive benefit of our commerce. 

If it was not much interrupted by the privateers 
of the malcontents, we loft whole mercantile fleets 
to our enemies. And it mud be admitted, that 
in the courfe of no war, fmce that of the Revo- 
lution, were our fhipping fo much deranged, or 

of the fleets of Great Britain, France, Spain, and Holland, 
at the end of the war, as under : 



Of the line. 


Guns. 


Britifh fhips - 


145 carrying 


10,132 


Deduft thofe wanting repairs, 


28 — 


'1,948 


Britifh effective - 


117 — 


8,184. 


French - 


• 82 — 


5.M 


Spanifa 




4.720 


Dutch - 


33 — 


2,006 




182 ^ 




Dedud thofe wanting repairs, 


49 . — • 


2,928 


More than Great Britain 


16 — 


1462 



lio AN fcSTIMAffc 6f 

our traffic fo far driven from its ufual channel 
But, we fhall fee the precife ftate of both, by at- 
tending to the following details : 

Value or 

Years. Ships cleared outwards. cargoes* 

T 1772 1 Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
In the peaceful -J 73 ? 795>943 - %2§£ - 860,175-15,573,003 

("1775 7 

American war -j 76 J. 760.798 - 73> 2 34 - 8 34,°3a - 13,861,812 

French war - 1778 657,238 - 98,113 - 755,351 - it, 551,070' 

Spanifhwar - 1779 r59Q>9 11 - *39»i34 - 73°>°35 - 1^693,430 

1780 619,462 - 134^515 - 753>977 - 11,622,333 

Dutch wair j, 1781 547>953 - 163,410 - 7n,3 6 3 - 10,569,187 

1782 55^851 - 2 oS >5 n - 761,362 - 12,355,750 

If we review this fatisfactory evidence, we fhall 
probably find, that there were annually employed,; 
when the colony-war began, more than one hun- 
dred and fifty thoufand tons of Britifh fhipping, 
than had been yearly employed during the prof- 
perous years 1764 — 5 — 6$ and that we annually 
exported of merchandizes, in the firft-mentioned 
period more than in the laft, little lefs than a mil- 
lion in value : That the colonial conteft little af- 
fected our foreign commerce, if we may judge 
from the decreafed ftate of our Ihipping*; but ? 
if we draw our inference from the diminimed va- 
lue of exported cargoes, we feem to have loft 
£.1,751,190 a year; which formed, perhaps, 
the real amount of the ufual export to the difcon- 
tented provinces : And the inconfiderable decreale 

* There were entered Inwards of Ihips belonging to the' 
revolted colonies, 34,587 tons> according to an average of the 
years 1771—2—3—4. 

89 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. l6 i 

in the numbers of our outward fhipping, with the 
fall in the value of manufactures, whereof their 
cargoes confifted, juftifled a fhrewd remark of Mr, 
Eden's, <c that, in the latter period it may be 
doubted, whether the dexterity of exporters, which, 
in times of regular trade, occafions oftentatious en- 
tries, may not, in many inftances, have operated to 
under-valuations." It was the alarm created by 
the interference of France, that firft interrupted 
our general commerce, though our navigation and 
trade, in 1778, were ftiil a good deal more, than 
the average of both, in 1755—6 — 7. The pro- 
fperity of our foreign traffic, during the war of 
1756, at leaft from the year 1758, is a fad, in our 
commercial annals, which has excited the amaze- 
ment of the world. Yet, let us fairly contrail both 
our fhipping and our trade, great as jihey were af- 
furedly, during the firft period, and little as they 
have been fuppofed to be, during the laft : 



Years. 
1758 
1778 


Ships 
Tons Eng. 

* 389.842 
- 657,238 


cleared outward 
D° foreign. 

- I l6,002 

- 98 } H3 


s. 

Total. 

- 505,844 

- 755>35i 


Value of cargoes. 

£ 

- 12,618,335 

- 11,951,070 


*759 
1779 


" 406,335 
- 590,911 


- I2I,Ol6 

- i39> 12 4 


- 5 2 7,35* 

- 730,035 


- 13,947,783 

- 12,693,430 


1760 
1780 


- 471,241 

- 619,462 


- 102,737 

- 134*5*5 


- 573,978 

- 753,977 


" 14,639,970 
" 11,622,333 


1761 
1781 


- 508,220 

- 547*953 


- ^7,835 

- 163,410 


- 626,055 

- 7",363 


- 14,873,191 

- 10,569,187 


1762 
1782 


- 480,444 

- 55M51 


- 120,126 

- 208,5 1 1 


- 600,570 

- 761,362 


- I 3 ? 545, I 7s 

- 12,355,750 



M What 



l62 AW ESTIMATE OF 

What had occurred, from the interruptions of all 
our foregoing wars, equally occurred from the 
ftill greater embarr aliments of the colony-war* 
Temporary defalcations were, in the fame manner, 
faid to be infallible fymptoms of a fatal decline, 
In the courfe of former hoftilities, we have feen 
our navigation and commerce prefTed down to a 
certain point, whence both gradually role, even 
before the return of peace removed the incumbent 
preiTure. All this, an accurate eye may perceive, 
amid the commercial diftrerTes of the laft war. 
There was an evident tendency in our traffic to 
rife in 1779, till the Spanifh war impofed an ad- 
ditional burden. There was a fimilar tendency in 
1780, till the Dutch war added, in 178 1, no in- 
confiderable weight. And the year 178 1, accord- 
ingly, marks the loweft degree of depreffion, both 
of our navigation and our commerce, during the 
war of our colonies. But, with the fame vigorous 
fpirit, they both equally rofe, in 1782, as they 
had rifen in former wars, to a fuperiority over our 
navigation and commerce, during the year, wherein 
hoftilities with France began. 

We have beheld, too, cn the return of complete 
peace, the fpring of our traffic rebound with 
mighty force. A confiderate eye my fee this in 
1783 and 1784, though the burdens of war were 
then removed with a much more tardy hand than 
in 1763 and 1764. Twenty years before, the pre- 
liminaries of peace were fettled, in November 
1762, and the definitive treaty with France and 

Spain 



/ 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 163 

Spam was figned on the tenth of February there- 
after : fo that complete tranquillity was reftored early 
in 1763. But, owing to the greater number and 
variety of belligerent powers, the laft peace was 
fully eftabliihed by much flower Heps. The pro- 
vifional articles were fettled with the feparated co- 
lonies in November 1782, The preliminaries with 
France and Spain were adjufted in January 1783. 
The definitive treaty with both, and with the 
United States of America, was figned on the third 
of September 17 83. Though an armiftice was 
agreed on with Holland, in February 1783, preli- 
minaries were not fettled till September thereafter, 
yet the definitive treaty was not figned till the 
twenty-fourth of May 1784. And with Tippoo 
Saib, who was no mean antagonift, peace was not 
concluded till March 1784. It was not however 
till July 1784, that we offered thanks to the Al- 
mighty, for reftoring to a haraiTed, though net an 
exhaufted nation^ the greateft bleffing, which the 
Almishty can beftow. 

To thofe dates, and to this fact, we muft care- 
fully attend, in forming comparative efiimates of 
our navigation and commerce, of the price of the 
public flocks, or of the progrefs of our financial 
operations. With thefe recollections constantly in 
our mind, we fhall be able to make fome accurate 
reflections, from the following details : 



Epochs 



AN ESTIMATE Of 

Epochs. Ships cleared outwards. Value of cargoes* 

I749"} Tons Engl ifh. D° foreign. Total. £. 

50 [609,798 - 51,386 - 661,184- 12,599,112 

17647 

6 5 ( 639,872 - 68,136 - 708,008 - 14*925,950 

66 J 
1772] 

73 f 795^943 - 64,232-860,175-15,613,003 
74J 

*7$3 79S> 66 9~ I 57^9 6 9- 9S3» 6 3 8 ' 13^51,671 
84 846,355 - 113,064-959,419- 14,171,375 
8 5 95 I ^ 8 55" 103,398- 1,055,253- 15,762,593 



If we examine the fubjoined ftate of the Poft- 
office revenue, we mall find fupple mental proofs 
of increafing profperity. The grqfs income of 
the pqfts amounted, in the year, ending 

the 25 March 1755, to - £.210,663, 

the 5 April 1765, to - 281,535, 

the 5 April 1775, to - ' jfctf&l'i 

the 5 April 1784, to - 420,101, 

the 5 April' 1785, to - ^Z>!$3- 

The foregoing fiatements will furely furnifh 
every honed mind with comfortable thoughts. 
From thofe accurate details we perceive, with Effi- 
cient conviction, how fuperior both our naviga- 
tion and our commerce were, in 1783 and 1784, 
when peace had {cavcdy returned, to the extent of 
both, after the treaty of Aix-Ia-Chapelle, an epoch 

of 



THE STRENGTH OF C. BRITAIN. l6 § 

of boafted profperity. We employed in our traffic, 
in the year 1784, three hundred thousand 
tons more than we employed, according to an 
average of 1749—5 o — 5 1 , Yxctufiye of the pipping 
of Scotland, to no fmall amount. Of Britijh mips, 
we happily employed, in 1784, two hundred 
thousand tons, more than our navigation em- 
ployed in 1764, though the vefTels of our revolted 
colonies, amounting yearly to 35,000 tons ; had 
been juftly excluded from our traffic, in the iaft 
period, but not in the firft : The value of exported 
cargoes from England was, at both epochs, nearly 
equal; though 1784 can fcarcely be called a com- 
plete year of peace, and every induftrious people 
had been admitted within the circle of a commerce, 
which we had almoft ruined the ftate, to make 
exclufively ours. The value of our exportations, 
in 1784, was not indeed equal to the amount of 
our exports in 1764, but they were fuperior to the 
value of exported cargoes in 1766, 1767, and 
1769*. If .we compare 1784, when we had hardly 
recovered from a war, avowedly carried on againft 
commerce, with 1774, when we had enjoyed un- 
common profperity during feveral years of peace, 
we fhall fee no caufe of apprehenfion, but many 
reafons of hope ; the number of Britifh (hips was 
much inferior, in 1774, than they were in 1784, 
after we had wifely excluded the American velfels 
from the protection of the BritiPn flag, of which 



* See the Chronological Table for a proof of the fadl. 

M 3 the 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



the revolted colonifts had fhewn themfelves un* 
worthy. The value of cargoes, which were ex-* 
ported at both the periods, are fo nearly equal, 
as not to merit much confideration, far lefs to 
excite our fears* 

Yet the government was about the fame time 
affuredly told *, that unlefs the American fhipping 
were allowed to be our carriers, our traffic mud 
Hop for want of tranfports : And the nation, for 
years, had been factioufty informed, that the inde- 
pendence of the malecontent colonies muft prove, 
at once, the deftruction of our commerce, and the 
downfall of our power. 

It was the prevalence of this fentiment, that 
chiefly generated the colony-war, which was fo 
productive of many evils, and which, like the other 
evils of life, have brought with them a happy por- 
tion of good. Yet, the fallacy of this fentiment 
had been previoufly fhewn, from the deductions 
of reafon, and the effects of the abfolute indepen- 
dence of our tranfatlantic provinces, had been 
clearly foretold, from the experience of the paft. 
Time has at length decided the f aft. For, by com- 
paring the exports to the discontented colonies^ before 
the war began, with the exports to the United States^ 
after the admiffion of their independence, it will 
appear, from the following detail, that we now 



* By the Committee of Weft India Merchants, in 1783. 



fupply 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 167 

fupply them with manufactures to a greater amount, 
than even in the moft profperous times : Thus, 

Exports. 

In 1771 -j £> 

72 [ — 3*064,843 
73J 

In 1784 — 3>397*5 00 * 



Yet, the exportations of the years 177 1 — 2 — 3 
%ere beyond example great, becaufe the eolonifts 
were even then preparing for fubfequent events, 
and the exporters were induced to make their 
entries at the cuftom-houfe, partly by their vanity, 
perhaps as much by their factioufnefs. We may 
reafonably hope then, to hear no more of our 
having loft the American commerce, by the in- 
dependence of the United States. From the 
epoch, that we have met induftrious competitors in 
their ports, we have had too much reafon to com- 
plain of having rather traded too much with a peo- 
ple, who affect to be great traders, without having 
great capitals. 

Connected with the American trade is the New- 
foundland fifhery. Of this Doctor Price afferted, 
in his ufual ftyle of depreciation and defpondence, 
that we feem to have totally loft it. The fubjoined 
detail, by eftablifhing fome authentic facts, will 
give rife, however, to more animating conclufions. 

* From the Cuftom-houfe books. 



Imports. 

— 1,322,532; 

— 749>3*9> 



Contrail 



i68 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



Contrail the Newfoundland fifhery, as it was an- 
nually ftated, fubfequent to the peace of 1763, by 
Admiral Pailifer, and as it was equally reprefented, 
after the peace of 1783, by Admiral Campbell: 

Comparative State of the Newfoundland Fishery. 

In 1764- 1784 — 1765 - 1785 

There were Britifh fjhmg fhips - 141 - 
Britifh trading lhips - 97- 
Colony lhips - - - 205 - 

Tonnage of Britifh fjhing fhips - 14,819 - 
* . of Britifh trading lhips - 11,924 - 

of Colony (hips - - - 13,837- 

Qnintals of hfh carried to foreign *J .00 co . c . c 

5 1470,188-497,534—493.654-591,276 

markets ------ J . , , — , . , , 

Thus, by excluding the fimers of the revolted 
colonies, we enjoy at prefent a more excenfive fifh- 
ery for the mariners of Great Britain, who, being 
fubjecl: to our influence, or our power, may eafily 
be brought into action, when their efficacious aid 
becoaes the moft necefTary, during war. From 
thofe coLnies, a hundred and fifteen floops and 
fchooners ufed annually to bring cargoes of rum, 
melaffes, bread, flour, and other provifions, to 
Newfoundland, for which the colonifts were paid 
in bills of exchange on Britain*. To acquire this 
traffic for Britifh merchants, is alone a confiderable 
advantage, which we derive from the independence 
of the United States. About twelve hundred 

* Admiral p t .Hifer's official report. 



236 — 177 - 292 

60— 116- 85 

co 104 - 5S 

2 2 ' 5 3 5 — 1 7,2.^>i» - 26,528 

6,297 — 14^353 - 9>* os 

4,10a — 6,9:17 - 6.260 



failors 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 

failors were accuftomed to emigrate, every feafon, 
from Newfoundland to the feparated colonies; 
where, whatever they might gain, their ufefuinefs 
to Britain was loft. This drain, which is now IhuC 
up, is perhaps a flill greater benefit. 

Our Greenland fifhery, which gives employment 
to fo many ufefui people, both by land and fea 3 
has been equally promoted by the abfolute inde- 
pendence of the United States as their oil and 
other marine productions no longer enter into 
competition with our own. Thus, there failed to 
the Greenland feas : 

Years. Ships. Years. Ships. 

From England in 1772 - 50 — in 1782 - 38 

1773 - 55 — - 47 

1774 - 65 — 1784- 89 

1775 - 9 6 — 1785-140 
From Scotland - — 1785 - 13 

153 

From this accurate detail we perceive, then, 
how much this important filhery, which had been 
heretofore depreffed by various competitors *, flou- 
rifhes, at prefent, while we have additionally 

* The Britifh fifhery to Greenland has gained a manifeir, 
Superiority over that of the Dutch, which was once fo conli- 
derable. In 178 1 and 1782 the Dutch fent no fhips to the 
Greenland feas : 

And in 1783 only 55 fhips. 
in 1784 - 59 
in 1785 - 65 



acquired 



17^ AN ESTIMATE ©F 

acquired the whale fifhery to the Southern 
'Seas. 

Yet, the malecontent colenifts, who had long 
been the active competitors of their fellow-fubjects 
in Great Britain, were accuftomed to think, that 
this ifland could not exifc without the gains of their 
commerce. Foreign powers equally thought, that 
they could ruin the affairs of Great Britain, by 
contributing to their independence. And to this 
fource alone may be traced up one of the chief 
caufes of the colony- war, and of the interference 
of foreigners. But, were we to fearch the annals 
of mankind, we mould not find an example of 
hoflilities, which being commenced in. oppofition 
to the genuine intereft of the belligerent parties, 
were continued for years in contradiction to com- 
mon fenfe. 

The leaders of the malecontents feem at length 
difpofed to admit, that being hurried on by paflion, 
they facrificed their commerce and their happinefs 
to factious prejudices and to unmeaning words. 
Had they been fufficiently acquainted with their 
own interefts, and governed by any prudence, 
they might, before the war began, have retained a 
participation in Britifh privileges, and the protec- 
tion of Britifh power, by verbally admitting, that 
they were the fellow-fubjects of the Britifh people, 
without being really incumbered with any burden. 
And they might have thereby gained the prefent 
independence of Ireland, with the invaluable parti- 
cipations of Ireland j which, to eftimate juftly, we 

ought 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN, I~l 

ought only to fuppofe retracted for a feafon, or 
even loft for a day. 

It is, indeed, fortunate for us 3 that the French 
were fo much blinded, by the fplendour of giving 
independence to the Britifli colonies, as not to fee 
diftinftly how much their interpofition and their aid 
promoted the real advantage of Great Britain. 
When the colony- war began, the true intereft of 
France confifted in protracting the entanglements, 
which neceilarily reftilted from the virtual depen- 
dence of thirteen diftant communities, claiming 
feparate and fovereign rights ; and which had con- 
tinued to enfeeble the Britifh government by their 
pretentions, their clamours, and their oppofition, 
till the difTatisfied provincials had, in the fulnefs of 
time, feparated themfelves, without any effort on 
their part, or any ftruggle on the fide of Great 
Britain. From thefe embarralfments the French 
have however freed, by their impolicy, the rival 
nation. And they have even conferred on the 
people, whom they wiflied to deprefs, actual 
ftrength, by reftoring, unconfcioufly, the fhip- 
building, the freights, and the nmeries 5 of which 
the colonifts had too much partaken, and which, 
with other facilities, have refulted to the mother- 
country from the abfolute independence of the 
American ftates. 

Spain, perhaps, as little attended to her genuine 
interefts, when ihe lent her aid to the arTociated 
powers, which enabled the revolted colonies to 
take their free and equal ftation among the fove- 
reign 



1J2 AN ESTIMATE OF 

reign nations of the earth. She might .have 
trufted to the hopes and fears of a Britilh Mi- 
nifter, for the fecurity of her tranfatlantic em- 
pire. But, within the American States, where 
can fhe place her truft ? The citizens of thefe mates 
have already, with their ufual enterprize, pene- 
trated to the banks of the Miflifippi. And this 
active people even now bound on Louifiana and 
Mexico; and may even now, by intrigue, or force, 
fhake the fidelity, or acquire the opulence, of 
thofe extenfive territories. 

When the Dutch, by departing from their ufual 
caution, interpofed in the quarrel, every intelligent 
European perceived, that the difcontented colonies 
mud neceffarily be independent. And it was 
equally apparent, that every advantage of their 
traffic mull have loon been acquired, by the more 
induftrious nations, without the rifk of unneigh- 
bourly interference, and ftill more, without the 
charge of actual hoftilities. 

When all parties became at length weary of a 
war, which had thus been carried on contrary to 
their genuine interefts, a peace was made. What- 
ever advantages of commerce, or of revenue, may- 
have refulted from this memorable event to the 
other belligerent powers, certain it is, that though 
Great Britain contracted vaft debts, and loft many 
lives in the conteft, fhe derived from the inde- 
pendence of the American States many benefits, 
exclufive of domeftic quiet, the greater! of all be- 
nefits. 

Had 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". 173 

Had Great Britain, like Spain, received any- 
public revenue from her tranfatlantic territories, 
fhe had doubtlefs loft this income by the inde- 
pendence of her Colonies. If Great Britain has 
thereby loft fovereignty, without jurisdiction, fhe 
has freed herfelf from the charges of protecting 
an extenfive coaft, without deducting any thing 
from her naval ftrength ; fince the colony failors 
were protected by pofitive ftatute * from being 
forced into the public fervice. While this nation 
has faved the annual expence of great military 
and civil eftabliihments, it can hardly be faid to 
have loft any commercial profits. And, by ex- 
cluding the citizens of the United States from their 
accuftomed participation in the gainful bufinefs of 
fhip-building, freights, and fifhery, Great Britain 
has, in fact, made confiderable additions to her 
naval power. Thus, the means, which were ufed 
to enfeeble this country, have actually augmented 
its ftrength, whatever may have been the fate of the 
other belligerent parties. 

It muft be admitted, however, that the Britifh' 
government contracted immenfe debts, by carry- 
ing on the late moft expenfive war. When thefe 
were brought to account, in October 178 3, the 
whole debts, payable at the Exchequer, amounted 
to ^.212,302,429, capital] whereon were paid 

* The 6th Anne, which had conferred the 'ab'ove-rnent^oned 
exemption, was indeed repealed at the commencement of -tine' 
War, by the 15 Geo. III. ch. 31. § 19. 

■£.i 3 6id s Q6t, 



174 A ® ESTIMATE V 

£.8,012,061*, as intereft and charges of ma* 
nagement. For the payment of this annuity, the 
legiflature had provided funds, which, it muft be 
allowed, did not produce a revenue equal to 
previous expectation, or to fubfequent neceftity* 
And, burdenfome as thefe debts undoubtedly were, 
they had little embarraffed general circulation, 
had this principal and this annuity formed the only 
claims on the public, which had arifen from the 
colony-war. 

But, every war leaves many unliquidated claims, 
which are the more diftrefsful to individuals and 
the ftate, as thefe unfunded debts float in the ftock- 
market at great difcount ; as they depreciate the 
value of all public fecurities ; and as, from thefe 
circumftances, they obftruet the financial opera- 
tions of government, and prevent private perfons 
from borrowing for the rnoft ufcfiil purpofes of 
productive induftry. Of fuch unfunded debts, 
there floated in the market, in October 1783, no 
lefs than £. 18,856,542; of which £. 15,694,112 
were fo far liquidated as to carry an intereft, that 
continually augmented the capitals, exclufive of 
other claims, which were equally cogent, but of 
lefs amount. 

The public fecurities, which always' rife in value 
on" the" return of peace, gradually fell, when thofe 
vaft debts were expofed to the world in exagge- 
.* 

* The Exchequer account, as publilhed by the commiffion- 
ers of public accounts, 

rated 



THE STRENGTH Of G. BRITAIN. If.j 

rated figures ; when the ftockholders were terrified 
by declamations on the defects of their fecurity, 
which is, in fact, equal to the viability of the Bn- 
tifh State ; and when all claimants on the public 
were daily aflured of a truth, which had then too 
much exiftence, that the annual income of the 
public was not equal to the annual expenditure, 
The late Earl of Stair was the writer, who mod 
induftrioufly laid fuch confiderations before the 
world. " If the premifes are juft," faid he, <c or 
<c nearly juft, and nothing effectual is done to pre- 
" vent their confequences, the inevitable conclufion 
" is, that the State is a bankrupt :, and thofe, who 
u have entrusted their all to the public faith, are 
" in imminent danger of becoming (I die pro- 
w nouncing it) beggars* " 

The wafp the hive alarms 
With louder hums and with unequal arms. 

The nation was mortified, at the fame time, by 
the events of a war, the mifmanagements, and ex- 
pences, of which had made peace abfolutely necef- 
fary. And the government was at once enfeebled, 
by diffractions, and unhinged, by the competitions 
of the great for pre-eminence and -power. 

It was at this crifis of unufual difficulty, that 
the prefent minifter was, called into office, nearly 

* An argument to prove, that it is the indifpenfable duty of 
the creditors of the public, to infill; that Government do forth', 
with bring forward the Confideration of the Jtate of jtlie 
Nation. By John, Earl of Stair, Vjftj - • : 



9 



If6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

as much by the fuffrages of his country, as by 
the appointment of his fovereign. 

Were we to inftitute a companion of the ftate 
of the nation, in 1764 and 1765, with the financial 
operations in 1784 and 1785, we mould be ena- 
bled to form a proper judgment, not only of the 
incumbrances, and refources, of the Britifh govern- 
ment, but of the meafures, which were at both 
periods adopted, for difcharging our debts, by ap- 
plying our means. 

The war of 1756 augmented the public debt 

£. 72,111,004; 
of 1775 - 110,279,341. 



In' 1764, t^e unfunded debts, including German 
claims, navy and ordnance debt, army extraor- 
dinaries, deficiencies of grants and funds, exche- 
quer bills, and a few fmaller articles, amounted 
to - - - - - £. 9,975,018; 

In 1784, the unfunded debts, includ- 
ing every article of the lame kind, 
amounted to - - - 24,585,157. 



The navy bills fold, in 1764, at 9I per cent. 
difcount ; in 1784, at 20 per cent. The value of 3 
per cent, confolidated ftocks, from which the moft 
accurate judgment of all flocks may be formed, 
was in 1764 at 86 'per cent. ; but, in 1784, the 
value may be calculated at 54 per cent. In the 
firft period, our agriculture and manufactures, our 

• commerce 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 177 

commerce and navigation, were faid to be m the 
moft profperous condition ; in the la'ft, to Be almoft 
undone. 

With the foregoing data before us, we mall be 
able, without any minute calculations, or tedious 
inquiry, to form an adequate judgment of the 
refources of the nation, and of the conducl: of mi- 
nifters, in applying thefe refources to the public 
iervice, at the conclufion of our two laft wars. 

In 1764 — 65, there were paid off and provided 
for* - £. 6,192,1595 

In 1784 — 85 ~ ~ f 18,139,448=; 



There remained unprovided for 

in 1765, — in 1785,, 
German claims £. 156,044 — £„ 
Navy debt - - 2,426,915 — 
Exchequer bills - 1,800,000 — 4,500, 000 

Total in both £. 4,382,959*— £. 4,500,000 

* ConTiJ. on Trade and Finances, p. 4 in j 

f The following are the particulars, from the annual grants 
and appropriation acts : 
liebts funded in 1784, - - - - £. 6,879,342. 
Debts paid off and otherwife provided for. in 

1784 - . - - - - - 5,728,615. 
Debts funded, in 1785, - - - - 10,990,651. 
Debts paid off, and otherwife provided for, in 

1785, 4,540,840. 

Total of debts paid off, funded', and oilier- j * ' ^ '~ 

wife provided for, in 1 784— 85 - - f 2 ,139,44 . 

N But, 



17^ AN ESTIMATE OF 

But, let us carry this companion one ftep 
farther. There were paid off and provided 
for (as we have feen) in 1764 and 1765, of unfunded 
d ebts - - - - - £. 6,192,159. 
There w T ere afterwards paid off be- 
fore 1776 - *c>739>793* 

Total paid off in eleven vears - £.16,93 1,95 2. 
There w r ere paid off and provided 

for in two years, 1784—85 - 28,139,448* 



Yet, from this laft fum muff be deducted the 
£.4,500,000 of Exchequer bills, which, being 
continued at the end of 1785, were either circu- 
lated by the Bank, or were, in the courfe of public 
bufinefs, locked up in the Exchequer. Thofe 
bills indeed, that paffed into circulation, were of 
real ufe to the Bank, and to individuals, without 
depreciating funded property, as they continually 
paffed from hand to hand at a premium. 

There was no purpofe, when the foregoing com- 
parifons were inffituted, of exalting the character 
of the prefent minifter for wifdom and energy, by 
the degradation of any of his predeceffors, for inanity 
of purpofe, and inefficiency of performance. The 
able men, who managed the national finances from 
1763 to 1776, acted like all former ftatefmen, 
from the cireumftances, wherein they were placed, 
and probably made as great exertions, in difcharg- 
ing the national debts, as the fpirit of the times 

admitted. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 175 

admitted. Greater efforts have, fince the laft 
peace, been made, becaufe every wife man declared, 
that there was no other effectual mode of fecuring 
ail that the nation holds dear, than by making the 
public income larger than the public expenditure. 
The before-mentioned operations of finance, in 
1784 and 85, it had been impoiTible to perform, 
without impaling many taxes, which all parties 
demanded as neceffary. Were any defence required 
For a conduct, which, if the faithful discharge of 
duty, at no fmall rifk of perfonal credit, be laudable* 
merits the greater!: praife, the previous neceffity 
v/ould furnirh ample juftification. 

What had occurred at the conclufiori of e Very- 
war, fince the Revolution* happened in a ftill 
greater degree, fince the re-eftablifhment of the 
laft pease. Let us make hafte to lighten the pub- 
lic debts, which fo much enfeeble the ftate, and 
embarrafs individuals, was the univerfal cry. It 
was the judgment of the wife ft men, that, con- 
fidering the magnitude of the national incum- 
brances, thefe debts could neither be paid off, nor 
greatly leftened, except by a finking fund, which 
ihduld be invariably applied to this moil ufeful 
purpofe. And, great as the national debts were* 
amounting to £. 239,154,880 principal, which, for 
intereft and charges of management, required art 
annuity of £. 9,275,769.; after alLthe financial ope- 
rations of 1784 and 85, a fmking-fund of a mil- 
lion was faid to be fully fufEcient, if thus focrtdly 
N 2 appliedj 



IBO AN ESTIMATE 0£ 

applied; as the productive powers of money at 
Compound intereft are almoft beyond dalculation. 

Animated by fuch reprefentations, and urged 
by fenfe of duty, the minifter, though ftruggling 
with the embarraffing effects of a tedious and un- 
fuccefsful war, which, in the judgment of very 
experienced men, had almoft exhaufted every na- 
tional refource, has efcablifhed a finking-fund of a 
million. Whatever might have been the univerfal 
wifh 5 no one, at the re-eftablifhment of the peace, 
had any reafonable expectation, that fo large a 
finking-fund would be thus early fettled by act of 
parliament, on principles, which at once promote 
the intereft of the public, by diminishing the na- 
tional debt, and forward the advantage of indivi- 
dual by creating a rapid circulation. 

Of other finking-funds, it has been remarked, 
that they did not arife fo much from the furplufes 
of taxes, after paying the annuity, which they had 
been eftabliffied to pay, as from a reduction of the 
ftipulated intereft. The finking-funds, that had been 
eftablimed in Holland during 1655, and at Home in 
1 6 8 5, were thus created. The well-known finking- 
fundi which had its commencement here, in 17 16, 
was equally created by the reduction of intereft on 
many flocks. And hence has been inferred the 
infufficiency of fuch funds. But, the foundation of 
Mr. Pitt's finking-fund is firmly laid on a clear 
furplus of a permanent revenue, made good by 
new £axes s and on the conftant appropriation of 

fuch 



THE STRENGTH Ot G. BRITAIN. l8l 

fuch annuities as will revert to the public from 
the effluxion of years. 

The fufficiency and facredneft of this fund may 
be however inferred, not fo much from any arti- 
ficial reafoning, as from the nature of the crufts, 
and from the fpirit of the people, which ever 
guards with anxiety what has been dedicated to 
their conftant fecurity, and future glory, The 
finking- fund of 171 6 was left to the management 
of minifters, who found an intereft in mifapplying 
it. Mr Pitt's finking-fund has been entrufted to 
fix commiflioners, holding offices, which are no 
way connected with each other, and to the pof- 
felTors of which the people look for fidelity, know- 
ledge, and Fefponfibility. From fuch truftees no 
mifapplication, or jobbing, can reafonably be ap- 
prehended. Eight years have now elapfed, fince 
the eftablifhment of their authority, and neither 
jobbing, nor mismanagement, has been fufpe&ed 
by malice, or fa&ion. Add to this, that the com- 
miffioners, being required by law to lay out the 
appropriated money in a fpecified manner, and to 
give an annual account of their tranfaclions to. 
Parliament, ac~t under the eye of a jealous world, 
$uid under the cenfure of an independent prefs, 
which, in a free country, has an efficacy beyond 
the penalties of the legiflature. 

But, the ad itfelf, which creates this fund, and 
makes thofe provifions, may be repealed, it is 
feared, by the rapacity of future minifters.,. or by 
N 3 the 



I §2 AN ESTIMATE OF 

the diftrefs of fubfequent wars. Againft this ob- 
jection experience has alfo given its decifion. 

It is however no fmall fecurity of the prefent 
finking-fund, that the impolicy of mifapplying the 
former is admitted with univerfal conviction and 
regret. Under this public opinion, no minifter, 
whatever his principles, or his power, may be, will 
ever attempt the repeal of a law, which, in fact, 
contains a virtual contract with the public credi- 
tors, and on the exigence of which the public 
credit muft in future depend: For the repeal of 
this act, and the feizure of this fund, during the 
prefTures of any war, would be a manifeft breach 
of this contract; and would amount to a bank- 
ruptcy* becaufe it would be a declaration to the 
world,, that the nation could no longer comply 
with her rnoft facred engagements. And what 
evil is to be feared, or good expected, from any 
war, which ought to {land in competition with the 
evils of bankruptcy, or the good that muft necef- 
farily refult from the invariable application of 
fuch a fund ? A million, thus applied, will aiTuredly 
free the public frcm vaft debts, and, in no long 
period, yield a great public revenue : It is demon- 
ftrable, that a finking-fund of a million, with the 
aid of fuch annuities as muft meanwhile fall in, 
will fet free four millions annually, at the end of 
twenty - feven years : It has been demonftrated by 
ingenious calculators, that the invariable applica- 
tion of a million to the annual payment of debts, 
6 """" would, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". I 83 

would, in fixty years, difcharge £.317,000,000 of 
3 per cent, annuities, the price being at 75 per cent* 
In eight years, Mr. Pitt's finking-fund has, in fad, 
purchafed £.13,617,895 of ftock, at the experice 
of £.10,599,265 of cam. This me'atlire, then, is 
of more importance to Great Britain than the 
acquifition of the American mines. And, this 
meafure, thus facred in its principles, and faiutary 
in its effects, will not probably be foon repealed by 
the influence of any minifter, becaufe all orders in 
the ftate are pledged to fupport it, while the pro- 
perty of every man in the community is bound 
for payment of the national debt. 

Without inquiring minutely, whether a furplus 
of £. 900,000 appeared in the exchequer on any 
given day, it is fufficiently apparent, that all the 
purpofes of this meafure of finance will be amply 
anfwered, by the punctual payment of £. 250,000 
in every quarter to the truftees, as the law requires y 
becaufe the Parliament are engaged by the act to 
make good the deficiency, if the furplus of the 
finking-fund mould in any year amount to lefs than, 
a million. The fad is, that £.250,000 have been 
pundually applied every quarter, fmce it began to 
operate, on the ift of Auguft 17 86. Additional 
fums have meantime been thrown into the finking- 
fund, for giving a quicker pace to its powerful 
operations. And, by thefe means, has it produced, 
at the end of eight years, much greater effeds 
than fome calculators originally conceived, from 
N 4 taking 



1 34 ANT ESTIMATE OF 

taking narrow views of a moil extenfive prof- 
peel: *. 

Little fluctuation in the funds will be created by. 
fending into the Stock Exchange a certain fum, on 
certain days, during every quarter. It is the great 
rife, and the proportional fall, in the value of the 
flocks, which enable jobbers to gain fortunes. 
And, of confequence, the commiinoners will hardly 

* Earl Stanhope was the calculator, who urged every ob- 
jection againit this fmking-fund with the moft ingenuity and 
force -; having a plan of his own to propofe. His lordmip 
formed a calculation, in order to mow the effect of a furplus of 
j£. 1,000,000 a year, with fuch long annuities as might fall in; 
The following detail will mow the amount of his calculation, 
and the fum total of the fact, from experience, of ftock actually 
bought-, at the end of every year. 



Eight Years. 


Earl Stanhope's 
Calculations. 


Eight Years. 


The fact, from 
experience. 


5th April 1787 
D° - 1788 
D° ~ 1789 
D° - 1790 
D° - 1791 
Jj° - 1792 
B° - 1793 
D° - 1794. 


- £■ 

X, 000,000 
2/065,551 

3>*73>3 l6 
4>3 2 .S>599 

6,792,613 
8,145,898 
9>553>5H 


4th Quarter. 

8th D° 

l2thD° 

16th D° 
20th D° 
24th D° 
28th D° 
3 2d D° - 


£• 

1,343,100 
2,874,150 

4^47^50 
5,997,900 
7,568,875 

9*44>> 8 ,5.q 
1 1,196,165 
13,617,895 



Thus, hath the event decided againtf Earl Stanhope's calcu- 
lations and plan, by a' balance of ^.4,064,581, in eight years, 
operations. And, this experience is alone 1 Sufficient to fa- 
tisfy lis how little che theories of fpecula'iifts ought to be allowed 
to actuate the practice of life, or the movements of legifla-j 

find 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". I 85 

find it their intereft, if they had the inclination^ to 
pleaj b public ecurities with a view to great pro- 
fits t*. If the gradual and fteady rife of the flocks 
be for th-- intereft of the public, as well as of in- 
dividuals, the quarterly application of the new 
fund mud be deemed a great improvement of the 
old whiqh was feldom felt in the ftc ck marker, 
and gave little motion to general circulation. By 
thefe means will the capitals of the public debts 
be rendered more manageable, in no long period; 
the price of fcocks muft neceffarily rife; the 
finance operations of government will thereby be 
performed with frill greater advantage to the Hate $ 
and induftrious individuals will, in the fame man- 
ner, be more eafiiy accommodated with difcounts s 
and with loans. 

The eftablilhment of fuch a fund, and the crea- 
tion of fuch a truft, are doubtlefs very important 
fervices to the people collectively, as they form a 
corporation, or community. But, it may be eafiiy 
ihewn, that the people individually will be ftill 

* The purchafes being confined to the transfer days, little 
more than ^.5,000 can be brought to market on any one day, 
which of confequence can make no rapid rife of any one ftock : 
And, when the finking-fund amounts to the greater!: poffible 
fum of £. 4,000,000, the purchafe -money on any day can only 
be fomethmg'more than £. 20,000. — The gradual application 
of this "finking-fund is an excellent quality of it, becaufe 
fudden changes in the flock-market are not for the intereft of 
real buyers, or fellers. The commiffioners therefore can gain 
little profit from their fuperior knowledge of the flock into 
*/hich they intend to purchafe. 



greater 



1 86 A N" ESTIMATE OF 

greater gainers, by the new finking-fund, as it has 
been thus judicioufiy formed. And, in this view 
of die fubjeci, its fleady operation will be of frill 
greater utility to the nation, than even the payment 
of debts, becaufe it is the profperity of indivi- 
duals, which forms the real weal: 1 of the ftate. 
The ingenious theorifts, who oblige the world 
v/ich projects, for paying the national debt, confider 
merely the intereft of the corporation, or public, 
without attending to what is of more importance, 
the advantage of the private perfons, of whom the 
public confift. Of Mr. Pitt's finking-fund, it is 
one of the greateil commendations, that it pro- 
motes the true intereft of both parties, in juft pro- 
portions. 

A new order of buyers being thus introduced, 
and a new demand being thereby created, the price 
of flocks muft neceftarily rife, notwithstanding the 
arts of the ftockjobbers ; becaufe the public fecu- 
rities become in fact of more real value. In pro- 
portion as the money is fent from the finking-fund 
to the flock- exchange, the price of flocks muft 
gradually rife frill higher. And a rife of flocks, 
when gradual and fteady, never falls to produce the 
moil falutary eifecls onuniverfal circulation, by faci- 
litating transfers of property, and by aiding the per- 
formance of contracts. Recent experience con-* 
firms this general reafoning. Every one muft re- 
member how impoffible it was for individuals to 
borrow money on any fecurity, for any premium* 
till towards the end of 1784, When the flocks 

begar* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 187 

began to rife, the price of knds equally rofe. 
When the government ceafed to borrow, and the 
unfunded debts were liquidated, manufacturers and 
traders eafily obtained difcounts, and readily ac- 
quired permanent capitals. 

But, the wifdom of man could not have de- 
vjfed a meafure more favourable to circulation, 
than the fending of large fums, from day to day, 
into the Stock-exchange ; whereby the courfe of 
circulation is conftantly filled, and, being always 
augmented, becomes ftill mere rapid. It is the 
rife of (locks, and the fulnefs of circulation, which 
make money overflow the coffers of the opulent, 
unlefs fome unforefeen drain mould be unhappily 
opened. When cafn becomes thus plenty, the 
natural interefl of money gradually falls, and bill* 
of exchange, and other private fecurities, are rea- 
dily difcounted at a lower rate. In this happy 
flate of things, money is faid to be plenty and 
every individual is accommodated with loans and 
with difcounts, according to his needs, by pledg- 
ing his property, or his credit. 

Owing to all thttfe facilities, every induftrious 
man eafily finds employments. The manufactu- 
rers are all engaged. The traders fend out ad- 
ditional adventures. The fhip-owners are offered 
many freights. The produce of the hufbandman 
is confumed by a bufy people. And thus are rents 
more readily paid, and taxes more eafily collected. 
Such are the benefits, which refult to individual* 
and the flate, from a rapid circulation, that 

can. 



S3S AN* ESTIMATE Of 

can only be promoted, and preferred, by fending 
money comtantly into the Stock- exchange. It is 
thus, by inciting an active induftry, that the pay- 
ment of public debts, through the channel of 2 
quarterly finking-fund, enables the people to pay 
thegreateft taxes with eafe and fatisfa&ion. And 
thus may we foive a difficult problem in political 
ccconomy, whether the jfurplus of the public re- 
venue ought to be applied in the difcharge of 
c :bts, or in the diminution of taxes : the one 
meafure afTuredly invigorates the induftry of the 
people, in the manner, that we have juft obferved 5 
the other may promote their indolence, but cannot 
procure them an advantage, in any proportion to 
the benefits of unceafing employments, and the 
accommodation of more extenfive capitals : by 
means of induftry the heavier!: burthens feem light: 
by the influence of (loth the flighted: duty appears 
intolerable. 

Jt Was owing, probably, to the invigorating ef- 
fects of an augmented circulation, that our agri-i 
culture and manufactures, our commerce and na- 
vigation, not only flourifhed> but gradually irw 
creafed, to their prefent magnitude, amidft our 
frequent wars, our additional taxes, and accumu- 
lating debts. How much the fcanty circulation of 
England was filled, during the great civil wars of 
the laft century, by the vaft impofts of thofe times, 
and how foon the intereft of money was thereby 
reduced, we have already feen. Similar confe- 
rences : followed the wars of William; and of 

Anne^ 



*TKE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 1S9 

Anne, owing to firniiiar ckiifes. The finking- fund, - 
which, for feveral years after its creation, in 1716* 
did not much exceed half a million, produced, 
afluredly, the moft falutary influences, even before 
the year 1727 : The value of the public funds 
rofe considerably, though the ftipulated intereft on 
them had been reduced, fir ft, from 6 to 5 per cenL 
and, in that year, from 5 to 4 per cent. The na- 
tural intereft of money gradually fell : The price 
of lands in the mean time advanced from 20 and 
2 1 years pnrchafe to 26 and 27 t And cur agri- 
culture and manufactures, our trade and our Ship- 
ping, kept a fteady pace with the general profpt- 
rity of the nation *. Such are the falutary effects 
of a circulation, which, being repleniflied by dairy 
augmentations, is preferved constantly full. And 
thus it is, that the people areeafed in the payment 
of taxes, by being better enabled to pay them, 
while taxes are continually augmented, though 
there may be fome impofts, which ought to be 
repealed, as they prefs upon particular objects. 

On the other hand, an obftructed circulation 
never fails to create every evil, which can afflict 
an induflrious people : Scarcity of money, and 
unfavourable difcounts j unpurchafed manufactures, 
and want of employments ; unpaid rents, and un- 
performed contracts ; are the mifchiefs, which dif- 
trefs every individual, and embarrafs the commu- 
nity, while circulation is impeded. The com-? 

* For the above-mentioned fafts, fee And. Chron* Com. 
Vol. ii. p. 316 — 22. 

mercc 



igO AN ESTIMATE OF 

merce of England was well nigh ruined, during 
King William's reign, by the diforders in the 
coin, the want of confidence, and the high price 
of money. The foreign bankruptcies, in 1763* 
reduced the value of cargoes, which were exported 
in this year, from fixteen millions to fourteen, 
during feveral years, owing to the decline of ge- 
neral credit. How much the domeftic bufmefs 
of Great Britain was embarralTed by the bankrupt- 
cies of 1772 and 1773, which, in England, amount- 
ed, in the firft year, to 525, and to 562, in the fe- 
cond, is ftill remembered ** The complaints, 
which were at thofe periods made of a decline of 
commerce, were merely owing to an obftructed cir- 
culation, as fubfequent experience hath amply evinced. 

Wars, then, in modern times, are chiefly de- 
finitive, as they incommode the induftrious claf- 

* The following detail is alone fufficient to demonftrate 
how the manufactures of a country may be ruined by a lan- 
guid circulation, without the interruptions of war. Of linen 
cloth there were ftamped for {ale in Scotland, 

during 1771 — 13,466,274 yards. 

1772 — 13,089^065 

1773 — icv74 8 > 110 - 

1774 — 11,422,115. 



Of woollen cloth, there 1 were fulled, in the Well Riding 
of Yorkshire, in the year ended 

Broad. Narrow, 

the 25th March 1792, - 203,623 pieces 156,475 piece? 

Ditto - 1793, ~ 214,851 — 190,468 

Ditto - 1794, - 1 9°>3 3 2 — 15°>666 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. f$t 

fes, by obflrucling circulation. Yet, general in- 
duftry was not much retarded, however individual 
perfons, or particular communities, may have been 
deranged, or injured., by the -colony-war. The 
people were able to confume abundantly, fince 
they actually paid vaft contributions, by their daily 
confumption of excifeable commodities*. And 
though they purfued their accuftomed occupations, 
and thus paid vaft impofts, the eftablimed income 
of the ftate fufrained confiderable defalcations 
from various caufes ; from the abufes, which #1* 
never fails to introduce intd certain branches 61 
the revenue ; from the illicit traffic, that generally 
prevails in the courfe of hoflilities ; and from the 
new impofltions, which fomewhat leffen the ufual. 
produce of the old. 

* Of malt there were confumcd, 

Eufti. Old Duties. 

in 1773 — 4 — 5 72,588,010 — £.1,814,700. 

in 1780 — 1 — 2 87,343,083 — 2,183,577. 



Oflow wines from corn. 

Gal. Old Datie*. 

w I 773~ 4— 5 9>974^37 — £-4*M93* 

in 1780—1 — 2 11,757,499 — 489,895. 

Of Soap, 

it* Old Duties 

in 1/73—4 — 5 " 93^9°^49 — l-M>M%< 

In 1780—1—2 — — 98,076,806 — 612,98c 



Thefe 



1$2 AN ESTIMATE CiF 

Thofe diforders in the public revenue have 
been at leaft palliated, if they have not been al- 
together cured, fince the re-eftablifhment of peace. 
The meafures, which were vigoroufly adopted, for 
the efFe&ual prevention of fmuggling; the altera- 
tions, which have been made in the colleclion of 
fome departments of the public income ; and the 
improvement, that has been happily effected in all 5 
have brought, and continue to bring, vaft funis 
into the Exchequer*. The public expenditure 
Continually diftributes this vaft revenue among the 
creditors, or fervants of the State, who return it 
to the original contributors, either for the ne- 
celTaries, or the luxuries, of life. The Exchequer, 
which thus conftantly receives and diipenfes this 
immenfe income, has been aptly compared to the 
human heart, that unceafmgly carries on the vji- 
tal circulation* fo invigorating while it flows, fo 
fatal when it Hops. Thus it is, that modern taxes, 
which are never hoarded, but always expended, 
may even promote the employments and induftry,- 
the profperity and populoufnefs, of an induftrious' 
people. 

* The whole public revenue paid into the Exchequer, 
from Michaelmas 1783 ? 12t99 § 9 ^ 

to ditto 17843 
Ditto, from Michaelmas 1784 T ^ 379,182 

to ditto 1785 3 

Ditto from 5 January 1785 7 „ 15,397,471 
to ditto 1786 3 — 



6 H A ?V 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 1 93 



Chap. XI. 

The Controverfy on the Populoufnefs of Britain 
revived. — The Parties. — A Review of their Pub- 
lications. — An Examination of the Argument— from 
Reafoning — from Fails — from Experience. — The 
augmented Populoufnefs of Ireland. — The Increafe 
of People in Scotland. — The general Refult — as to 
England. 

THE conteft, which had been carried on du- 
ring the war of 1756, between Doctor 
Brackenridge, and Doctor Forfter, with regard 
to the effects of our policy, both in war, and in 
peace, on population, was revived, amidft our Co- 
lony Cornells, by Doctor Price, and his opponents. 
This laft controverfy furnilhes much more inftruc- 
tion, with regard to a very interefling fubject, than 
the former ; as the difputants took a wider range, 
and collected, in their courfe, many new facts. 
Doctor Price revived the difpute, by contributing 
an Appendix to Mr. Morgan's EfTay on Annuities, 
wherein the Doctor attempted to prove, by inge- 
nious remarks on births and burials, a gradual de- 
cline in the populoufnefs of Great Britain. He 
was foon encountered by Mr. Arthur Young, who 
juftly inferred, from the pragrefs of improvements 

O in 



194 AN ESTIMATE OF 

in agriculture, in manufactures, and in commerce, 
an augmentation, in the number of people. Mr. 
Eden publifhed, in 1779, elegant criticifms* on 
Doctor Price; by which he endeavoured to in- 
validate the argument, that had been drawn from 
a comparifon of the number of houfes, at the Re- 
volution, and at prefent; infifting that the firft 
muft have been lefs, and the laft much greater, 
than the text had allowed. In his reply, the 
Doctor Ihewed feme miftakes in his antagonift, 
without adding much to the force of his argument. 
Yet, if we may credit his coadjutor, who entered 
zealoufly into ail his prejudices, he confidered his 
fyftem as more firmly eftablijhed than ever-f. 

This long-continued controverfy now found 
other fupporters. Mr. Wales publifhed his Accu- 
rate Inquiry, in 178 1. With confiderable fuccefs 
he overthrows Doctor Price's fundamental argu- 
ment, from the comparifon of houfes at different 
periods by ihewing, that the returns of houfes to 
the tax-office are not always precife by proving, 
from actual enumerations of feveral towns, at 
diftant periods, that they had certainly increafed; 
by evincing, from the augmented number of 
births, that there muft be a greater number of 
breeders. This able performance was immedi- 
ately followed by Mr. Howlet's ftill more exten- 
five examination of Doctor Price's eflay. Mr. 

* In his Letters to Lord Carlifle. 
f Uncertainty of Population, p. 9. 

Howlet 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. I95 

Howlet expands the arguments of Mr. Wales ; 
he adds ibme illustrations ; and, what is of ftill 
greater importance, in every inquiry, he eftablifhes 
many additionaJ facts. 

The rreatifes of MerT. W ales and Howlet made 
a great impreffion on the publir, as facts in oppofi- 
tion to fpeculations, mufl ever make. At the mo- 
ment, when their publications had gained — a confi- 
derable fhare of popular belief? it was deemed pru- 
dent, on the fide of Doctor Price, to publifh — 
Uncertainty of the prefent population. This writer 
frankly declares that he is convinced by neither party , 
and that he mult confequently remain in a ft ate of 
doubt and Jceptical fufpenfe. His apparent purpofe 
is to (hew, in opposition to the popular belief that 
after all our refearches, we really know nothing with 
any certainty, as to this important part of our poli- 
tical ceconomy. In the fceptical arithmetic of 
this dubious computer, 1,300.000, when multiplied 
by 5, produce 6,250,000. Doctor Price and his 
coadjutors feemed unwilling to admit, that if there 
were, in England and Wales, at Lady-day 1690, 
1,300,000 inhabited houfes, and five perfons in each, 
there muft neceijarily have been, at the fame time* 
6,500,000 fouls. For, they feared the charge of 
abfurdity, in fuppofing a decreafe of a million and a 
half of people, during ninety years of augmented 
employments : And, they perceived, that by admit- 
ting there were, in 1690, fix million and a half of 
people, they would thereby be obliged to admit, 
that there had been an augmentation of a million 
O 2 and 



l<yU AN ESTIMATE OF 

a id a half, during the foregoing century, notwith- 
standing the long civil wars, and the vaft emigra- 
tions. The Doctor published, in 1783, Remarks 
on thefe tracts of MefT. Wales and Howlet*. 
And, with his ufual acutenefs, he detects fome 
miftakes ; but, wit!» his accuftomed pertinacity, he 
adheres to his former opinions. 

The matter in difpute, we are told f, muft be 
determined, not by vague declamation, or fpecu- 
lative argument, but by well-authenticated facts : 
'For, <c the grand argument of Dr. Price is at 
once extremely clear, and comprehended in a very 
narrow compafs." The following is the ftate of 
this grand argument : 

That there appeared by the Hearth-books, at Lady 
Day 1690, to be in England and Houfes. 
Wales 1,300,000; 

That there appeared by the Tax- 
office books, in 1777, only - - 9S 2 >734 : 



Whence, the Doctor inferred, as a neceffary con- 
fequence, that there had been a proportional dimi- 
nution of people, fince 1690. 

Confidering how important this fubject is to the 
ftate, and how much it is connected with the gene- 
ral purpofe of this Eftimate, I was led to examine, 
at once with minutenefs and with brevity, an argu- 

* In his Gbfervations on Reverfionary Payments, in 2 vol. 
8vo. 

j By Uncertainty of Population* 

ment, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. I 97 

merit, which has been oftentatioufly difplayed, as 
equal in its inferences to the certainty of actual 
enumerations. 

In lieu of the obnoxious hearth-tax, the Parlia- 
ment impofed, in 1696, a duty of two fhillings on 
every houfe; fix fhillings on every houfe, contain- 
ing ten windows, and fewer than twenty ; and ten 
fhillings on every houfe having more than twenty 
windows ; thofe occupiers only excepted, who were 
exempted from church and poor rates. And Gre- 
gory King computed, with his ufual precifion, what 
the tax would produce, before it had yielded a 
penny * : Thus, fays he, the number of inhabited 
houfes is 1,300,000 
whereof, under ro windows 980,000 ; 

under 20 windows 270,000 ; 
above 20 windows 50,000, 

*■ — ■ — *■ Ijj N o,coo. 

Out of which deducting, 

for thofe receiving alms - - - 3^0,000 houfes at as. £. t \gco. 

for thofe not paying to church .ind poor 380,000 ^— at zs.\d. 44,000. 

for omiiTions, frauds, and defaulters - 40,000 — -. at 42. 8,000. 

Infolvent - 750,000. £. 85,000. 

Solvent - 550,000; paying nett - 119,000. 

However many insolvent houfes were thus de- 
dueled from the i ,300, coo inhabited houfes^ Gregory 
King allowed at laft too many Jolvent ones. This 
truth may be inferred from the following fafts* 



* Pol. Obferv, Brit. Muf. Harl. MSS. N° 1898. 

O 3 There 



1 9S AW ESTIMATE <3F 

"There remains in the tax-office * a particular ac- 
count of the money, which each county paid in 
1 70 1 5 for the before-mentioned tax of 1696, from 
the alieiTments of Lady-day 1700, and which 
amounted to - X. 115,226. 

But, the old eft lift of houfes, which fpecificaily 
paid the tax of 1696, is " an account made up, for 
170", from an old furvey book" but from prior afteiT- 
ments : And this account ftands thus : 

Houfes at as. — 248,784, produced £. 14,878. 

6s. — 165,856, 49>757- 

ips. — 93,876, — — - — 46,39 s - 

508,516, producing £. 121,033. 



He who does not fee a marvellous coincidence -(-, 
between this official document and the previous 
calculation of Gregory King, muft be blind indeed. 
The folvent houfes of King, and the charged houfes 
of 1708, are of the fame kind, both being thofe 
houfes, which aclually paid, or were fuppofed to 
have paid, the tax. And, Mr. Henry Reid, a 

* I have ranfacked the tax-ofBce for information on this liti- 
gated but important fubjeft ; and I was affifted in my refearches 
by the intelligent officers of this department, with an alacrity, 
which file wed, that, having fully performed their duty to the 
public, they did not fear minute infpe&ion. 

f The houfes having upwards of twenty windows, in the 
tax-office account of 1781, are 52,373. The number of the 
fame kind allowed by King is 50,000 : But he is not fo fortu- 
nate in his other calculations. 

8 comptroller 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN*. . IQg 

comptroller of the tax-office, who was noted for 
his minute diligence, and attentive accuracy, re- 
ported to the Treasury, in Oclober 1754, that the, 
eld duties, on an average, produced yearly, from 
1696 to 1709 - - - £.118,839*. 

But, there mull have necenarily been a great 
many more houfes, in 1708, than the 508,516, 
charged^ and paying £. 121,033. In the twelve] 
years from 1696, there could have been no great 
wafte of houfes, however powerful the deftruflive 
caufe might have been. And Gregory King, in 
order to make up his thirteen hundred thoufand 
houfes, calculated the dwellings of the poor, in 1696, 
at - - - - - 710,000; 
and of defaulters, &c. at - 40,000 ; 



7 50,000. 

Davenantf Hated, in 1695, from the hearth-books, 
the cottages, inhabited by the poorer fort, at 500,000 ; 
and he afterwards aliens, as Doctor Price cbferved, 
that there were, in 1689, houfes, called cottages, 
having one hearth, to the number of 554,631 : 
whence we may equally fuppofe, that there were 
dwellings, having two hearths, a very considerable 
number, whofe inhabitants, either receiving alms, or 
paying nothing, did not contribute to the tax of 
1696 : fo that, in 1708, there muft have certainly 
exifted 710,000 dwellings of the poors as this 
number had certainly exifted in 1696. 

* Gregory King calculated the tax beforehand at £.1 19,000. 
f Vol. i. edit, ift, p. 5. 

O 4 Mr, 



aOO AN ESTIMATE OF 

Mr. Henry Reid moreover reported to the 
Treafury, in 1754, that in the year 1710, when 
an additional duty took place, it became an uni- 
verfal practice to flop up lights; fo that, in 1710, 
the old duties yielded only £.115,675: — And 
for fome years, both the old, and the new, duty 
fjffered much from this caufe, as there was no 
penalty for the flopping of windows. Other duties, 
continues he, were impofed in 1747* ; f° tnat 
from Lady-day 1747, to Lady-day 1748, the 
-whole duties yielded /. 208,093 : 'and, an expla- 
natory a£t having palled in 1748, the duties 
yielded, for the year ending at Lady-day 1749, 
£.220,890: But, other modes of evading the 
law being fcon found, the duties decreafed year 
after year. — And thus much from the intelligent 
Mr. Henry Reid, who never dreamed of houfes 
falling into non-exiitence. 

The firft account of houfes, which now appears 
to have been made up, fubfequent.to that of 1708, 
is the account of 1750, and the laft is that of 178 1. 
With the foregoing data before us, we may now 

*, By the 20 Geo. II. ch. 3 ; which recites, that whereas it 
hath often been found from experience, that the duties grant- 
ed by former acts of parliament have been greatly leffened by 
means of perfons frequently Hopping up windows in their 
dwelling houfes, in order to evade payment; and it hath 
often happened, that feveral afieffments have not been made 
in due time; and that perfons remove to other pariihes with- 
out paying the duty for the houfes fo quitted, to the prejudice 
of the Revenue." But the legiflature do not recite, that houfes 
daily fell down, or that the numbers of the people yearly 
declined. 

form 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 201 



form a judgment fufEciently precife, in refpecl to 
the progrefs of our Koufes, charged and chargeable 
with the houfe and window tax: 

The charged, in 16965 according to King, 550,000 
The chargeable, according to him, - 40,000 



590,000 

The charged and chargeable, in 1750, 729,048* 

Increafe in 54 years - - 139,048 

The charged, in 1708 - 508,516 
The chargeable, let us fuppofe - 100,000 



608,516 

The charged, and chargeable, in 17 81, 721,351 
Increafe in 73 years - - 112,835. 



Here, then, is a folution of the difficult problem, 
in political ccconomy, which has engaged fo many 
able pens, Whether there exift as many houfes, at 
prefent, as there certainly were, in England and 
Wales, at the Revolution,- at lead, the queftion 
is decided, as to the number of houfes, charged and 
chargeable with the window and houfe tax: And, 
of confequence, the middling and higher ranks of 

* This high number, in 1750, was probably owing to the 
act of parliament, 2(0 Geo. II. which had juft pad, when new- 
modes of circumvention had not yet taken place,, 

men 



202 AN ESTIMATE OF 

men muft 3 with the number of their dwellings, 

have neceffarily increafed. 

A great dhTiCuky, it muft be admitted, (till re- 
mains, which cannot be altogether removed, 
though many obflructions may be cleared away. 
The difficulty confifts, in afcertaining, with equal 
preciiion, the number of dwellings, which have 
been exempted, by law, from every tax, fince 
1600, on account of the poverty of the dwellers. 
The litigated point muft at laft be determined by 
an anfwer to the queftion, Whether the lower 
orders are more . numerous in the prefent day, 
than they were in 1690? 

A modern fociety has been compared, with 
equal elegance and truth, to a pyramid, having the 
higher ranks for its point, and the lower orders 
for its bale. Gregory King left us an account of 
the people, minutely divided into their feveral 
claiTes, which, though formed for a different pur- 
pofe, contains fufhxient accuracy for the prefent 
argument 

* Davenant's works, 6 vol. Scheme D, which was copied 
from Gregory King's Obfervations, p. 15, with fome inaccu- 
racies. 



RANKS. 



THE STRENGTH OF G» BRITAIN*. 



RANKS. 

Spiritual lords — 
Temporal lords — 
Knights — — 
Baronets - — 
Eminent clergymen - 
Eminent merchants - 
Efquires - - 
Gentlemen - — 
Military officers - 
Naval officers - - 
Perfons in leffer of- ? 

flees - I 
Perfons in higher 7 

offices - 3 
Leffer clergymen - 
Leffer merchants - 
Perfons in the law - 
Perfons of the libe- 7 

ral arts - J 
Freeholders of the? 

better fort - } 
Shopkeepers and? 

tradefmen - y 
Artizans - - 
Freeholders of the? 

leffer fort - j 
Farmers - - 
Gipfies, thieves, 

beggars, &c. 
Common foldiers - 
Common failors - 
Labourers and out- 7 

fervants - 3 
Cottagers and pau-7 

pers - - ) 



Number of 
Families. 

26 

t6o 

600 
800 

2,000 
1,000 ■ 
3,000 
12,000 - 
4,000 - 
5,000 - 

5,000 - 



I Heaels in 
j each. 

-20 - 

- 40 - 

- 13 ~ 

- l6 - 

- 6 - 

- 8 - 
-10 - 



8, coo 
8,000 
1 0,000 



50,000 
60,000 
120,000 
150,000 



35,000 
50,000 

364,000 
400,000 



203 

Number of 
Perfons. 

520 

6,400 

7,800 

I2,S00 

12,000 
16,000 
30,000 
96,000 
16,000 
20,000 



- 30,000 



5,000 - 8 - 40,000 



1 5,000 - 5 ~ 



40,000 - 7 



4f 



4 - 

n - 

5 - 



i - - 



2 
3 



~ 31 - 



40,000 
48,000 
70,000 

75,000 

280,000 

225,000 

240,000 

660,000 

750,000 

30,000 

70,000 
1 50,000 

1,274,000 
1,300,000 



5,499,520 



if 



204 AN ESTIMATE OF 

If this divifion of the people Ihould be deemed 
only probable, it would prove, with firfficient con- 
viclion, how many dwellings the two laft claries 
required to fhelter them, fince they contained no 
fewer than two million jive hundred and /even ty -four 
tboujand per/ons. Gregory King allotted for them, 
as we have feen, 550,000 houfes. And it is apparent, 
that if the two lower orders of men have aug- 
mented, with the progrefs, which has been traced 
in our agriculture and manufactures, in our traffic 
and navigation, fuch perfons mud neceiTarily dwell 
in a greater number of houfes. 

Davenant has fhewn, that the poor rates of 
England and \yales amounted, towards the end of 
Charles II.'s reign, to - - - £. 665,302* 

By an account given in to parlia- 
ment, in 1776, the poor rates 
amounted to 1,556,804. 



However this vaft fum, which is probably under 
the truth, may have been mifapplied, or wafted, 
yet every one, who received his proportion of it, 
as alms, was exempted from the tax on chargeable 
houfes, and muft have confequently fwelled the 
number of cottagers. 

vVhatever the term cottage may have fignified 
formerly, it was defciibed, by the ftatute of the 
00 Geo. II. as a houfe, having nine windows, or 
under, whole inhabitant either receives alms, or 
does not pay to church and poor. But, we are 

not 



THE STRENGTH OF <5. BRITAIN. 2GJ 

not inquiring about the word, but the thing-, whe- 
ther the dwellings of the lower orders, of whatever 
denomination, have increafed, or diminimed, fince 
the Revolution ; and the end of this inquiry is to 
find, whether the lower orders of men have de- 
creafed, or augmented. 

The argument for a decreafed number of cot- 
tages is this : Gregory King, from a view of the 
hearth-books of 1690, (which yet did not con- 
tain the cottages, fince they were not chargeable 
with the hearth-tax) calculated the dwellings of 
thofe, who either received alms, or did not give 
any, at - - 550,000* 

The furveyors of houfes returned the 

number of cottages, in 1759 *, at ~ 282,429; 

and in 178 1 - - 284,459, 



Forfter, the antagonift of Brackenridge, was the 
firft, probably, who objected to the accuracy of 
the furveyors returns, with regard to all houfes. 
Having obtained the collectors rolls, he had counted, 
in 1757, the number of houfes in nine contiguous 
parifhesj whereby he found, that, out of 588 
houfes, only 177 paid the tax; that Lambourn 

* This is the firft year, fays Doctor Price, that an order 
was given to return the cottages excufed for poverty o I have 
in my pofleilion fome returns which were made of" cottages in 
1757, and which, having efcaped the deltruclion of time, 
evince previous orders and previous performance. There was, 
in fact, an account of the cottages made up at the tax- office 
in 1756. 

pari Hi, 



*06 AN ESTIMATE OF 

parifh, wherein there is a market-town, contains 
445 houfes, of which 229 only paid the tax. 
When it was objected to Forfter, that this furvey 
was too narrow for a general average^ he added 
afterwards nine other parifhes, in diftant counties ; 
whereby it appeared, that of 1,045 houfes, only 
347 were charged with the duty ; whence he in- 
ferred, that the cottages were to the taxable houfes 
as more than two to one *. Mr. Wales equally 
objected to the truth of the furveyors returns, in 
their full extent. And Mr. Howlet endeavoured, 
with no fmail fuccefs, to calculate the average of 
their errors, in order to evince what ought proba- 
bly to have been the true amount of the genuine 
numbers. In this calculation, Doctor Price hath 
doubtlefs fhewn petty faults ; yet is there fufficient 
reafon to conclude, with Doctor Forfter and Mr. 
Howlet, that the houfes returned to the tax- office 
are to the whole, as 17 are to 29, nearly. It will 
a: laft be found, that the returns of taxable houfes 
are very near the truth ; but that the reports of 
exempted houfes cannot poffibly be true: for 
280,000, or even 300,000 cottages, would not 
contain the two lower orders, who exifted in 
England and Wales at the Revolution; and 

* Forfter's letter, in December 1760, which the Royal 
Society declined to publilh. [MSS. Birch, Brit. Muf. No. 
4440.] The algebraical fophifms of Brackenridge were print- 
ed in the foreign gazettes : the true philofophy of Foriter, by 
experiment and faft % was buried in the rubbifh of the Royal 
Society. 

who, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN'. 2QJ 

who, wkh the greater! aid of machinery, could 
not perforin the annual labour of the fame coun- 
tries at prefent. 

Our agriculture has at all times employed the 
greater!: number of hands, becaufe it forms the 
iupport of our manufactures, our traffic, and our; 
navigation. It admits of little difpute, whether 
our hufbandry has been purfued, before, or fince 
the bounty on the export of corn, in 1689, with 
the greater! fkill, diligence, and fuccefs. Mr, 
Arthur Young found, in 1770, by inquiries in the 
counties, and by calculations from minutes of 
fufficient accuracy, that the perfons engaged in 
farming alone amounted to 2,800,000; belidcs a 
vaft number of people, who are as much main- 
tained by agriculture as the ploughman that tills 
the foil *. Yet, the two lower ranks of Gregory 
King, including the labouring people and out- 
fervants, the cottagers, paupers, and vagrants, 
amounted only to 2,600,000. 

Of the general ftate of our manufactures at the 
Revolution, and at prefent, no comparifon can 
furely be made, as to the extenfivenefs of their 
annual value, or to the numerofiny of ufeful peo- 
ple, who were employed by them. The woollen 
manufacture of Yorklhire alone is, in the prefent 
day, of equal extent with the woollen manufactures 
of England, at the Revolution. By an account, 
which had been formed at the aulnager's office, it 

* North. Tear, yqL iv. p. 36.4 — 5. 

appear?,. 



20S AN ESTIMATE OF 

appears, that the woollen goods exported In 168&, 
were valued at two millions, exchsfive of the home 
confumption, that amounted to a much lefs value *. 
The manufacturers furnifhed the committee of privy 
council, who fat on the Irifh arrangements, with 
<c a particular eftimate of the Yorkmire woollen 
manufactures whereby it appeared, that there 
were exported yearly of the value of £.2,371,942, 
and confumed at home £. 901,759-)-. We know, 
with fufflcient certainty, from the cuftom-houfe 
books, that after clothing the inhabitants, there 
were exported of the value of woollens, according 
to an average of the years 1699 — 1700 — 1, the 
value of - 2,561,615 ; 

the average of 1769— 70— 71 - 4,323,463 ; 
the average of 1790 — 91 — 92 - 5*056,733. 



And this manufacture, which has been always re- 
garded as the greateft, continues to rlourilh, as we 
have jufl feen, and to employ, as it is faid, a mil- 
lion and a half of people. 

Since the epoch of the Revolution, we may be 
faid to have gained the manufactures of filks, of 
linen, of cotton, of paper, of iron, and the pot- 
teries, with glafs ; befides other ingenious fabrics, 
which all employ a very numerous and ufeful 
race. We may indeed determine, with regard 
to the augmentation of our manufactures, and 

* MSS. Harl. Brit. Muf. K° 1898, fcr a ir.inute account, 
f The Council Report, 

to 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 20$ 

to the increafe of our artizans, from the following 
detail : 

There were exported, according to an average of 
the years 1699 — 1700 — 1701, products, exclu- 
five of the woollens before-mentioned, of the value 

of - - - £. 3,863,810. 

Ditto in 1769 — 70—71 - 10,565,1960 
Ditto in 1790 — 91 — 92 - - - *io,744,092. 



Thus, have we demonftration, that while our wool- 
len manufactories nearly doubled, in their extent, 
during feventy years, our other manufactures had 
almoft trebled, in theirs : And, therefore, it is 
equally demonftrable, that the great body of artifts, 

* Such is the exhilarating view, which the exported cargoes 
txhibit of our profperity ! The imports of the materials of ma* 
nufacture will furnifli a profpec"t equally pleafing: 

Of Spanish Wool. 

There were imported into England, according to 
a three years average, ending with 1705 
D* . - - 1720 
D° 1787 
D° 1792 



lbs. 
1^020,903, 
606,313, 
2,622,101. 
3,161,914. 



Of Cotton Wool. 



There were imported into England, according to lbs. 
a- five years average, ending with 1705 - 1,170,881. 

1> - - 1720 - 2,173,287. 

B° 1787 - 16466,312, 

!>• «• - 1792 - 29,620,281* 



who 



2 ID AN ESTIMATE OF 

who were conftantly employed, in all thofe manir- 
faclories, mud have increafed, nearly, in the fame 
proportion, during the fame bufy period. 

The whole failors, who were found in England, 
by enumeration, in January 1700 — 1, amounted 

to - - - - * 1 6,5.9 u 

By a calculation, which agreed nearly 
with the accuracy of this enumeration,, 
there appeared to have been annually 
employed in the merchants Jervice, be- 
tween the years 1764 and 1774 - 5 9, 565. 

In 1792 ; - - - - 87,569. 

The tonnage of Englifh Clipping,. 

during King William's reign, 

amounted only to - 230,441 tons, 

D° during the prefent reign - 1,186,610 



We may thence certainly, determine, with regard 
to the number of ufeful artificers, who mull: have 
been employed, during the latter period, more than 
in the former, in building and repairing our fhips. 
It is hufoandry, then, and manufa&ures, com- 
merce, and navigation, which every where, in later 
ages, employ, and maintain the great body of the 
people. Now, the labour demanded, during the 
prefent reign, to carry forward the national bufi- 

* There is reafbfi *o believe, however, that the above-enume- 
ration did not contain the Tailors of the port of London, 

nefs> 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. ■ 21 1 

nefs, agricultural and commercial, could not, by 
any poffibility, have been performed, by the infe- 
rior numbers of the induftrious clafTes, who doubt- 
lefs exifted, in the reign of King William, And 
from the foregoing reafonings, and facts, we may 
certainly conclude, with one of the ableft writers 
of any age, on political ceconomy : cc The liberal 
reward of labour, as it is the effect of increafing 
wealth, fo it is the caufe of increafing population : 
To complain of it [high wages] is to lament over 
the neceffary effect and caufe of the greateft pub- 
lic profperity "*. It is abfurd, then, to argue, that 
as employments increafe, population diminifhes ; 
that as hands are wanted, fewer hands mould be 
found ; and that as greater comforts are conferred 
on mankind, the natural propenfity of man to mul- 
tiply, and to people the earth, mould become lefs 
powerful, in its genial energies. 

In calculating the numbers of people, we mud 
attentively confider the flate of fociety, in which 
they exift; whether as rimers and hunters, as fhep- 
herds and hufbandmen, as manufacturers and 
traders ; or as in a mixed condition, compofed 
partly of each denomination. The American tribes, 
who reprefent the firft, are found to be inconfidera- 
ble in numbers - y becaufe they do not eanly procure 

* See the Inquiry into the Caufes of the Wealth of Nations, 
ch. 8 ; wherein Dr. Adam Smith treats Of tbe Wages of Labour, 
and incidentally of population, with a perfpicuity, an elegance, 
and a force, which have been feldom equalled. 



fobfiftencs 



212 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



fubfiftence from their vaft lakes, and unbounded fc«- 
refts, by fifhing, and hunting. The Afiatic Tar- 
tars, who reprefent the fecond flage of fociety, are 
much more populous j fmce they derive conti- 
nual plenty from their multitudinous flocks. But, 
even thefe are by fio means equal in population 
to the Chinefe, who acquire their comforts from 
an unremitting induftry, which they employ in 
agriculture, in manufacture, in the arts, in fifheries, 
though not in navigation. It was foreign com- 
merce, which peopled the marines of the Adriatic, 
and the Baltic, during the middle ages ; hence 
arofe Venice, and the Hanfe Towns, with their en- 
vied opulence, and naval power. It was the con- 
junction of agriculture, manufactures, and traffic, 
which filled the Low Countries with populous towns, 
with unexampled wealth, and with marvellous 
energy. The fame caufes, that produced all thofe 
effects, which hiftory records, as to induftry, riches, 
and Arength, continue to produce iimilar effects, 
at prefent. 

When England was a country of fhepherds, and 
warriors, we have beheld her inconfiderable in 
numbers. When manufacturers found their way 
into the country, when hufbandmen gradually ac- 
quired greater (kill, and when the fpirit of com- 
merce at length actuated all ; people, we have feen, 
grow out of the earth, amidft convulfions, famine, 
and warfare. He who compares the population 
of England and Wales at the Conqueft, at the de- 
rmic of Edward III. at the year 1588, with our 

popula- 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 21 J 

population in 1 63 8, muft trace a vaft progrefs, in 
the intervenient centuries, But, England can 
fcarcely be regarded as a manufacturing, and com- 
mercial country, at the Revolution, when contracted 
with her prefent profperity, in manufacture, and 
trade. The theorift, then, who infills, that our 
numbers have thinned, as our employments have 
increafed, and our population declined, 7 as our agri- 
culture and manufactures, our commerce and navi- 
gation, advanced, argues againft facts, oppofes ex- 
perience, and fhuts his eyes againft daily obfer- 
vation. 

Yet, Doctor Price, and his . followers, contend, 
that our induftrious claiTes have dwindled the 
mod, fince 1749, becaufe it is from this epoch, 
that the profperity of the people has been the 
greateft, however they may have, at any time, been 
governed. And the following argument is faid 
to amount to demonstration, becaufe it contains 
as ftrong a proof of progrej/ive depopulation as atlual 
Jurveys can give*: The number of houfes re- 
turned to the tax-office, as charged and chargeable, 
was, — » — - — in 1750 — 729,048 

in 1756 — 715,702 

in 1759 — 7°4>053 

in 1761 — 704,543 

in I?77 _ 701,473 

For a moment, Doctor Price 
would not liften to the fug- 
geftion, that the houfes may 

* Dr. Price's Eflay on Popul, p. 38. 

P 3 have 



214 AN ESTIMATE OF 

have exifted, though they 
were not included, in the re- 
turns of the intermediate 
years. But, lo ! additional 
returns have been made up 
at the tax-office, amount- 
ing, — — — in 1781 to 721,351. 

in 1794 to 1,008,222. 

This detail is furficient to mow, that the Doctor 
has failed in the proof, which was to outargue facts, 
to overthrow experience, and to convert the impro- 
bable into certainty. 

As a fupplemental prccf*, which may give 

» The chargeable houfes, 

in 17S1, under 10 windows, were — 497,801 

under 21 windows, — — 171,177 

above 20 windows, — - 52.-573 



721,351 

Cottages — — . — 284,^59 

Total houfes, and cottages, in 1781, - 1,005,810 
The houfes in 1750 — 729,048 
The cottages in 1750 — 274,755 

9 — 1,003,803 

Increafe fincc 1750 — — 2,007 



The account of cottages, in 1756, was completed, as appears 
from the tax-office books, on the 20th of November 1756. 
And thus, by adopting the mode, and the. materials, of 
Doflcr Price's argument, it is mewif, that he has been 
extremely miliaken, as to the depopulation of England, fince 
1750. 

fatis- 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN.' 21 5 

fatisfaction to well-meaning minds, there is annexed 
a comparative view of the number of houfes, in each 
county, as they appeared to King, and to Davenant, in 
the hearth-books of 1 6 90 ; of the charged houfes in 1708; 
of the chargeable houfes in 17503 with the houjes of the 
fame description, in 178 1. To this interefting docu- 
ment, is now added the number of houfes, which were 
found in England, and Wales, by the enumeration 
of 1 801 : — This enumeration will be found to throw 
great light upon the comparative view of thofe va- 
rious ftatements, which exhibit the numbers of 
houfes, at thofe feveral epochs, in a mutilated ftate. 
This document has, at length, decided the quef- 
tion, which has been fo often afked, whether the 
numbers of our houfes have increafed, or diminifh- 
cd, fince the Revolution, in 1688. I had previ- 
oufly eftimated the number of houfes in England, 
and Wales, at 1,586,000, during 1781: the enu- 
meration of 1 801 has found them to amount to 
1.3632,431, inhabited, and uninhabited houfes. 



p 4 



A Com- 



2l6 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



A Comparative View of the Number of Houses, in each County of En 
and Wales, as they appeared in the Hearth-books of Lady-Day 1690; as 
were made up at the Tax-office, in 1708—1750—1781; and, as they a 
from the enumeration of 1801. 



Count ies. 



No of 


N° of 


Houfes, 


Houfes 


1690. 


charged, 


1708. 



Bedfordftiire - 


- 


12,170 


- 


Berks - - - 


- 


16,096 


- 


Bucks - - . 


- 


i8,6S8 


- 


Cambridge 


- 


18,629 


- 


Chefter - 


- 


25,592 


- 


Cornwall - - 


- 


26,613 


- 


Cumberland 


- 


J5>^79 


- 


Derby - - - 




24,944 




Devon - 




56,202 
*7.*$9 


_ 


Dorfet - 




- 


Durham 




53.345 


- 


York - - - 




121,052 


- 


Eifex - - - 




4°>545 


- 


Gloucefter 




34>476 


r 


Hereford - - 




16,744 


- 


Hertford - - 




17,488 


r 


Huntingdon 






- 


Kent - - 




46,674 


- 


Lancafhire 




46,961 
20,44 s 


- 


Leicefter - - 




— 


Lincoln 




45=°J9 


- 


London, &c. - 




j 11,215 




Norfolk 




56,579 


- 


Northampton - 




26,904 


- 


Northumberland 


J* included in ] 
\ Durham ] 




Nottingham 




17,818 
19,627 


- 


Oxford - 




- 


Rutland - a 




3,661 


- 


Salop - - - 




27,471 


- 


Somerfet - 




45,900 


— 


Southampton, &,c. 


28,557 


- 


Stafford - - 




-26,278 


- 


Suffolk - - 




47,537 


- 


Surrey, &c. 




40,610 




Suffex - - - 




3 3>45 I 


- 


Warwick - - 




22,400 




Weftmorland - 




6,691 




"Wilts - - - 




27,418 




Worcefter 




24,440 




Angleiea - - 




- (« - 




jErecon 








Cardigan - - 








Carmarthen 








Carnarvon - - 




eL 




Denbigh - - 




> - 1 : 




Flint - - - 








Glamorgan P 








Merioneth 




- % - 




Men mouth 








Montgomery - 








Pembroke - - 








Radnor 




7 ,9 21 





5,479 
7,558 
8,604 

7,220 
1 1,656 
9 .,0 5 2 
2,509 
8,260 
16,686 

4»i33 
6,298 

44,779 
16,250 

13. -85 
6 >9*3 
7;447 

21,871 
22,588 

8,584 
I7,57i 
47,031 
12,097 

9,218 

- 6,787 

7,755 
8,502 

i,49 8 
11,452 
19,043 
H,33i 

I0,Sl2 

14,071 
9,429 
9,461 
1,904 

u,373 
9,178 
1,040 
3'37o 
2,042 
3.985 
1,583 
4,753 
2*653 
5,020 
1,900 
3,289 
4,047 

2,764 
2,092 



N° of Houfes, 
charged and 
chargeable, 

1750. 

6,802 - 

- 9,762 - 

- 10,687 - 

9,334 - 

- 16,006 - 

- i4,5 2 o - 

- 11,914 - 

- 13,912 - 

- 30,049 - 

- i*>7ti - 

- 10,475 - 

- 7o,Si6 - 

- 19,057 - 

- 16,2^1 - 

- 8,771 - 
9,251 - 

- 4,363 ~ 

- 30,029 - 

- 33,273 ~ 

- **>957 - 

- 24,999 - 

- 7i>977 ~ 

- 20,697 - 

- 12,464 - 

- 10,453 - 

- ii,coi - 

- 10.362 - 

- 1,873 - 

- ?3>33*- - 

- 27,822 - 

- 18,045 - 

- 15,917 - 
18,834 - 

- 20,0^7 - 

- 11,170 - 

- 12,759 - 

4,937 ~ 

" H>3°3 - 

9,967 - 

i,334 - 

- 3> 2 34 - 

- 2,542 " — 

- 5,020 - 
2,366 - 
6.091 - 
3,520 - 

- 6,290 - 

- 2,664 ~ 

- 4,980 - 

- 4,890 - 

- 2,803 - 
2,425 - 



N° of Houfes, 
charged and 
chargeable, 

1781. 

5,360 

8,277 
8,670 
9,088 
17,201 

i5>274 
13,419 
14,046 
28,612 
11,132 
12,418 
76,224 
18,389 
14,950 

8,092 

8,62s 

3°'975 
30,956 

12,54s 

24,591 
74»704 
20,056 
10,350 

12,431 

10,872 
8,698 

i,445 
12,895 
26,407 
15,828 
16,483 
19,589 
i9>3&i 
10,574 
13,276 

6,144 
12,856 

8,791 
2,264 

3>4o7 
2,444 
5,126 

2,675 
5,678 
2,990 

5>*4 6 
2,972 
4,454 
5,421 
3,224 
2,076 



N° of Houfe 
enumerated, 

1801. 



Inhabited 
11,888 

20,573 
20,443 
16,139 
34,482 
32,906 

2i,573 
$1,822 

57,955 
2i 5 437 
27,195 
168,439 

38,37r 
46,457 
17,003 
17,681 
6,936 

5',55 6 
114,270 
25,992 

4i,395 
112,912 
47,617 
26,665 

26,518 

25,611 
20,599 

3»274 
31,182 
48,040 
38,284 

45>5*i 
32,253 
46,072 
25,060 
41,069 

7,8q7 
28,059 ■ 
26,711 
6,679 
6,315 ■ 
8,819 ■ 

1 3 '449 ' 
8,348 
12,621 ■ 

7,585 ■ 
14,225 • 

5»787 ■ 

8,948 • 

8,725 ■ 

11,869 ■ 

3, 6 75 1 



Uninha 
1 
6 
5 
3 

1, 

- i,4 

8 

" i,3 

- 3>2 



6,41 
1,02 
i,7i 
94 
49 
13 
1,41 
3»39 
74 
1,09 

5>i7 
1,52 

73 
54 

5 ! 

929 
2,136 

906 
2,003 

55» 
i,5H 

718 
2,946 

315 
1,176 
1,109 
127 
479 

37i 
129 
427 
194 

537 
193 
417 
223 

3»* 
212 



3,319,215 508,516 



:9,04s 



721,351 



[,574,902 57,529 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. 217 

From this inftructive document, then, it appears, 
that the number of houfes have increafed, from 
1690 A. D» to 1 801, no fewer than 313,516 dwel- 
lings. And, thus, has demonftration decided, for 
ever, this pertinacious controverfy, about the in- 
creafe, or the diminution, of the people, fince the 
great epoch of the Revolution. It has decided, alfo, 
another litigated point, whether the returns of the 
houfes to the tax office cc furnifh as ftrong a proo£ 
cc as actual furveys can give." This dogma is now- 
involved in the external difgrace of that afluming 
argument, which was to outargue facts, and to 
overthrow experience. From the comparative view 
before ftated, it clearly appears, that twenty coun- 
ties, including London, Weftminfter, and Middle- 
fex, have actually increafed, fince 1750. Let us 
take the example of Surrey, and Lancashire, which, 
are dated, as having decreafed in houfes, and con- 
fequently, in people, fince 1750*. It is apparent, 
that Surrey has been overflowed by London, dur- 
ing the laft fifty years f. And of Lancafhire, confi- 
dering the vaft augmentations of its domeftic ma- 
nufactures, and foreign trade, it is not too much to 

* The country commiflicners often difcharge, on appeal, houfes, 
as not properly chargeable. This may occafion an apparent 
decreafe. 

7 In the villages round London, there were baptized, dur- 
ing a period cf twenty years, beginning with the Revo- 
lution ~ - - 20782 

During 20 years, beginning with 1758 — 60, or 61 39,383 

aflertj, 



£l8 AN ESTIMATE OF 

aflert, that It muft have added to its homes, and 
people, one-fourth, fince 1750*. 

But, it is faid to be idle, and impertinent, to 
argue from the fcate of population in Yorkfnire, or 
in Lancalhire, fince Dr. Price is ready to admit, 

that 

* in nxteen pariflies in Lancafhire, exclufive of Manchefter 
and Liverpool, there were baptized, in twenty years, 
about the Revolution - - - - 18,389 

Ditto, from 1758 - 47>9 I 9 

Thefe proofs of a rapid increafe of natural population are 
from Mr. Howlet's excellent Examination. It is an acknow- 
ledged fact, that Liverpool has doubled its inhabitants every 
£ve-and-twenty years, fince the year i;co. 
Of houfes, Liverpool contained in — 1753 — 3,700 

in — 1773 — 5,928 

in — 1783 — 6,819 

in — 1788 — 7,690 

Yet, were its houfes returned to the tax-office, 

in — I777 at 3,974 
and in — 1784 at 4,489 

Manchefler with Salford have equally increafed. 
Of houfes, there were in both, in — - 1773 — 4,268 

in — 1783 — 6,178 

Of which there were returned to the tax-office, 

in 1777 — — 2,519 
in 1784 — — 3,665 

And it might be eafily mevvn, that the fmaller towns, and 
villages, of Lancalhire, have grown nearly in the fame propor- 
tion; and this moft profperous county has, during the laft 90 
years, increafed in the numbers of people with the boafted ra- 
pidity of the American ftates. Bofton (in New- England) was 
fettled in 1633 ; yet, it did not contain twenty thoufand inha- 
bitants in 1775. Philadelphia was planted in 1682; yet, in 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 2l£ 

that thefe have added many to their "numbers *. Yet, 
owing to what moral caufe is it, that York and Lan- 
calhire, C heller and Derby, have acquired ib many 
people ? Is it owing to their manufactories, and 
traffic, and navigation, which augmented employ- 
ments ? Now, the fame cauies have produced the 
fame effects, in the other counties of this fortunate 
ifland, in proportion as thofe caufes have prevailed 
in each place. 

It is pretended, however, that the aftoniming 
augmentation of our cities did not arife from births, 
amidft profpericy, and happinefs, fince many people 
were brought from other diftricls, by the allure- 
ments of gain. The additional labourers could not 
afluredly have come, in confiderable numbers, from 
thofe counties, which have fuftained no diminution 
of people themfelves - } and in no European country 
is there lefs migration, from one parifn to another, 
than in England. The principle of the poor laws 
checks population, by preventing the laborious 
poor, from looking for better employment, beyond 
the limits of their native parilhes. Every one 
knows with what tyrannic rigour the law of Settle- 
ments is enforced, by fending to their proper pa- 
rilhes the adventurous perfons, who had found no 
employment at home. It is not, therefore, the mi- 
gration of the adult from the country to the town, 

its happiefl days, it did not comprehend thirty thoufand fouls. 
The other towns cf the American flates, being much inferior 
to thefe, can ftill lefs be compared to the manufacturing villages 
of England, or to Paiiley, in Scotland, in thequicknefs of their 
growth. 

* Uncertainty of Population, p. 14 — 19. 

that 



2'20 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



that continually fweils the amount of the bufy mul- 
titudes, which are feen to fwarm, where the fpirit 
of diligence animates the people : and it is the em- 
ploy ment, and habits of induftry, which are given to 
children, in manufacturing towns, that add to the 
aggregate of dwellers in them, more than the ar- 
rival of Grangers. 

Having, in the foregoing manner, traced a gra- 
dual progrefs from "the Conquefi to The Rrcolution ; 
having thus eftablifhed, by the bed: proofs, which 
fuch an enquiry, without enumerations, admits, that 
the former current of population not only con- 
tinued to run, but acquired a rapidity, and a fulnefs, 
as it flowed ; we mall net find it difficult, fince the 
chief objections are removed, to afcertain the pro- 
bable amount of the prefent inhabitants. He who 
infills, that there were in England and Wales 
1,300,000 inhabited houfes in 1688, muft equally 
allow, fince it has been proved, that of thefe there 
were 711,000, which were inhabited by perfons, 
who either received alms, or gave none \ and it 
has been equally {hewn, that the neceffary labour 
of the prefent day could not, by any pofiible exer- 
tions, be performed by the lower orders, who cer- 
tainly exifted, in 1688. Hence, it is reafonable to 
conclude, that, fince the 590,000 chargeable houfes, 
in 1690, were accompanied with 710,000 dwel- 
lings cf the poor, the 7 21,000 chargeable houfes of 
1 78 1, muft confequently be accompanied with 
865,000 dwellings of the poor : For, fuch is the infer- 
ence of juft proportion. The diftincT: dwellings in 
England and Wales, when both claiTes are added 
^ together. 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. 221 

together, muft be 1,586,000; which, if multiplied 
by c^j for the number of perfons in each, would 
difcover the whole numbers to be 8,447,200: But, 
there ought frill to be an adequate allowance for 
empty houfes, and for other circumftances of dimi- 
nution ; which, after every deduction, would mew 
the prefent population of England and Wales to be 
rather more than eight million. From the enume- 
ration of 1 Sot, we certainly find, that the num- 
bers now are 9,330,000. And fuch an augmenta- 
tion, as this would evince, fince the Revolution, is 
altogether confident with reafon, with fails, and 
with experience. 

Mr. Wallace, the learned antagonift of Mr. 
Hume, veryjuftly remarks*, " that it is not ow- 
" ing to the want of prolific virtue, but, to the dif- 
" treiTed circumftances of mankind, every genera- 
<c tion do not more than double themfelves ; which 
cc would be the cafe, if every man were married at 
" the age of puberty, and could proyide for a fa- 
" mily." He plainly evinces, that there might 
have eafily proceeded from the created pair 6,291,456 
perlbns, in feven hundred years. From the forego- 
ing difcullions, we have ieen an augmentation of 
four million and a half of people, during fix centu- 
ries and a quarter, of tyranny, of war, and of pefti- 
Jence. But, when we confider the more frequent 
employments, and agreeable comforts, of the people, 
their fuperior freedom, aftd greater healthful nels, 
we may alTuredly conclude, that there has been an 
augmentation of 2,830,000 fince The Revolution, 

* DkTert. on the Numbers of Mankind, p. 8. 

Of 



ail AN ESTIMATE OF 

Of this great increafe of people, Ireland furnilries 
a remarkable example, though this kingdom has 
not always enjoyed, during the effluxion of the laft 
century, a foliation equally fortunate*. Ireland 
has furTered, during this period, the miferies of civil 
war, which ended in the forfeiture, and expulfion of 
thoufands. In this period, alfo, multitudes con- 
flantly emigrated, either to exercife their induftry, 
or to draw the fword, in foreign climes. Yet, are 
there abundant reafons to believe, that this prolific 
ifland has much more than trebled its inhabitants, 
in the laft hundred years. 

Sir William Petty, who porTeffed very minute de- 
tails, with regard to the condition of Ireland, in 
the period, from the Reftoration to the Revolution, 

* Though the hearth-books of England have funk into obli- 
vion, the hearth-books of Ireland remain. From the produce 
ef the hearth-tax may be traced its gradual rife, as in the 
jfubjoined detail, which evinces the progrefs of popula- 
tion. It yielded, according to a five years average, ending 



with — — — 1687 £-32,416 

Three years average, with 1732 4 2 >45^ 

D° — — with 1762 — — 55.189 

Seven years — d° — 1777 — 59,869 

Five years — d° — 1781 60,648 

In 1781 — 63,820 



See Bibl. Karl. Brit. Muf. N° 4706— Mr. A.Young's Tour 
In Ireland, the Appendix — and Mr. Howlet's EfTay on the Po- 
pulation of Ireland, p. 19. 

f Pol. Anatomy, p. 7-11-17-116. 

ftated 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 22J 

ilated the number of houfes, in 1672-j-, at 200,020 
The number returned by the tax-gatherers, 

in 1791*. was - 701,102 



4,206^612 do* 



At the fir ft epoch, the Irifh nation had fcarcely re- 
covered from a long and definitive civil war. It 
is furBciently known, that, notwithftanding the lau- 
dable efforts of the late Mr. Bufhe, there are feve- 
ral houfes omitted, which often happens, when in- 
tereft may be promoted by concealment. Sir Wil- 
liam Petty ftated the whole population of Ireland, 
in 1672, at - - - - - i,ioo,coo fouls. 
Were we to multiply 701,102' 

houfes of the year 179 1, at 6 

in each-j^, this would carry the 

number up to - - - 

* See the account of houfes given in to the Irifh Parliament, 
on the zzd March 1792. 

f M r - Bufne had obtained actual enumerations of the number 
of dwellers, in each node, throughout many places of Ireland, 
exclufive of Dublin, amounting to 87,895 fouls, in 14,10$ 
houfes, or nearly 6 J in each dwelling. But, Mr. Bufhe went 
a ftep farther towards certainty, by getting the numbers, which 
dwelt in each kind of houfe: The houfes of paupers had 5^ in 
each; in nevy houfes were 4J; in houfes with two hearths 
were 9; and in houfes with one hearth were 6f- in each. Mr. 
Bufne, however, confidered thefe numbers, as higher than the 
general average. And, from ail thefe data, I have formed the 
following Table of the Population of Ireland, in 1791 ; 
fhewing the number of each kind of perfons, in that moil popu- 
lous kingdom : 

48 3,990 houfes of one hearth, at 6 in each — 2,903,940 
67,663 houfes of tnvo 3 or more, hearths, at 8 in 

each — — - — — — 541,304 
15,025 houfes, unascertained, whether of one 

hearth, or more, — at 6f in each 97,662 
21,868 new houfes, — — at 4 in each 87,472 
1 12,556 p aupers' houfes, — at 5 in each 562,780 
701,102 houfes, containing of all kind of perfons 4,193,158 

Were 



224 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Were we to admit this account, which has indeed 
been doubted, as merely an approximation to truth, 
it would demonflrate a ftill more confiderablc in- 
creafe of people, than, as we have fo many reafons 
for believing, took place, during the laft hundred 
years, in England, which enjoyed more productive 
advantages. This example ought to be more con- 
vincing than many arguments. 

The fame principles, which, in every age, influ- 
enced the population of England, and of Ireland, 
produced fimilar effects on the populoufnefs of 
Scotland. When England, and Ireland, were poor, 
and depopulated, we may eafily conjecture, that 
Scotland could not have been very opulent, or po- 
pulous. As England, and Ireland, gradually, ac- 
quired inhabitants, we may prefume Scotland fol- 
lowed their paths, though at a great difhnce be- 
hind. And, the accounts, which the miniflers of 
the feveral parifnes have lately transmitted to Sir 
John Sinclair, from enumerations, prove, that the 
people of Scotland have greatly increafed, during 
the laft eight-and-thirty years*. An intelligent 
obferver might form a fatisfactory judgment of 

* The numbers of inhabitants, which the minifters of the fe- 
veral parimes, in Scotland, have returned to Sir J. Sinclair, 
amount to 1,526,492: whereby it appears, that there has been 
an augmentation of 261,112, fculs on 1,265,380, which were 
the numbers, about the year 1755. And thus, this litigated 
queftion feems to be decided, as to Scotland, from adlual enu- 
merations. 

the 



THE STRENGTH OF C. BRITAIN. 22$ 

the previous condition of England and Scotland, 
from the accurate ftatements, whereon their union 
was formed. 

The public revenue of England was £. 53691,803 



of Scotland - - 160,000 



Of the trade of both, we may determine 
from the cuftom-houfc duties, which, 
in England, were - - - £• T >34i>559 
in Scotland - - - - 34,000 



The grofs income of the pofis was, 

in England - - - - - £. 101,10 1 
in Scotland - - - - - - 1*194 



Of the circulation of both, we may form 



an opinion from the re-coinage of 
both. There were re- coined 

in England, during King William's 

reign - £. #,400,006 

in Scotland, foon after the Union 411,118 

may decide, with regard to the con- 
fumption of both, from the excife- 
ciuties ; which, 
in England, amounted to - £. 047.602 
m Scotland, to - - 33,500 



From 



1%6 A ft estimate ot 

From thofe details* it is reafonable to infer, thsc 
Scotland polTefTed, in thofe days, no fiourifhing hus- 
bandry, few manufactories, little commerce, and 
lefs circulation, though there had certainly been a 
confiderable advance, in all thefe, during the two 
preceding centuries. " Numbers of people, the 
" greater! riches of other nations," fasd Mr. Lawjr,. 
in 1705, " are a burden to us ; the land is not 
" improved ; the product is not manufactured ; 
fS the fimtng, and other advantages of foreign trade, 
<f are neglected." Such was the deplorable ftate 
of Scotland, at the epoch of her happy union with 
England ! 

The Scots were, for years, too much engaged in 
religious, and political, controverfy, to derive from 
that fortunate event, all the advantages which, at 
length, have undoubtedly flowed from it. Their 
misfortunes, arifrng chiefly from thefe evils, have, 
however, conferred on them the mod invigorating 
benefits. The laws, that a wife policy enacted, 
created greater perfonal independence, and efta- 
bliflied better fafeguards for property, which have 
produced the ufual effects of a more animating ia- 
duftry. Of the intermediate improvements of their 
tillage we may form fame judgment from the rife of 
rents, and the advance of the purchafe-money for 
land, which mull have neceiTarily proceeded from a 

* See the elaborate and very curious Hiftory of the Union 
by De Foe, republifhed by Stockdale; and Ruddiman's pre- 
face to Anderfon's Diplomata. 

f Considerations on Money and Trade, 

better 



THE STRENGTH OF C, BRITAIN, 227 

better hufbandry, or a greater opulence. The ma* 
nufaclorieSj which the Scots doubtlefs poffefTed* in 
1707, though to no confiderable extent 3 have not 
only been greatly enlarged * 3 but to the old, new 
ones have mean while been added. The value of the 
whole exports by fea 3 amounted^ at the epoch of 
the Union, if we may believe Mr. Law 3 to about 
£.300,000 l The whole oftheie exports were car- 
ried up, before the colony war began 3 to /.i,8oo,ooc> 
if we may credit the cuftom-houfe books. The 
tonnage of fhipping, which annually entered the 
ports of Scotland, at the firft a?ra, was only 
1 0,000 f ; but, at the laft 3 93,000 tons. The 
foregoing ftateffients 3 general as they are, will 
evince to every intelligent mind> how mucli the 
commerce, and navigation, of Scotland have in- 
creafed, fince the hearts and hands of the two 
kingdoms were fortunately joined together, and 
how many ufeful people Ihe has added to her 
original numbers. 

Of the traffic of Scotland, it ought to be however 

remarked^ 

* The quantity of linen made for fale in Scotland> during 
1728, was only 2,000,000 yards > but, in 1775, 12,000,000. 
The linen is the chief manufacture of Scotland; and, were 
we to regard this as a proper reprefentative of the whole, we 
might from this infer a very confiderable augmentation in 
every other manufacture. 

f In the Harl. MSS. No. 6269, Brit. Muf. there is a lift of 
rhe fhips belonging to Scotland, (as they were entered in the 
Regifter General kept at London) and Trading in the ports 
0^2 of 



228 AN ESTIMATE OF 

remarked, that it is more eafily driven from its 
courfe than the Englilh, either by internal misfor- 
tunes, or by foreign warfare becaufe it is lefs 
firmly eftablifned; it is fupported by fmaller capi- 
tals ; and it is lefs extenfive in its range. The 
bankruptcies of 1772, deducted nearly £. 300,000 
from the annual exports of Scotland. The commer- 
cial events indeed of our two laft wars would alone 
juftify this remark. Let us compare, then, the ex- 
ports of Scotland, when they were the lowefb, dur- 
ing the war of 1756, with the loweft exports of the 
colony-war^ and die higher!: exports of the nrfl, with 
the higheft of the fecond ; becaufe we mall there- 
by fee the depreflions, and elevations, of both : 

©f that kingdom, from Chriftmas 1707, to Chiiltmas 1712, 
diftinguifhing thofe belonging to Scotland, prior to the Union, 
as follows : 

Veflels. 

Total — — — 1,123 

Prior to the Union — — 215 

Increafe — — 908 
There belonged to Scotland, in 1792, of 

veffels, which entered only once — 2,1 16 

Of which were employed, in 1792, in 

Foreign trade — — — 71 8 

Coaft trade — — — 1,022 

Fifhing fhallops, &c. — — 376 

The total — — 2,116 



Thofe comparative flatements evince undoubtedly a very 
confidexablc increafe of mipping m the intermediate period. 



Tons. 
— 50,232 



— 35>747 

— 154.857 

— §4,027 

— 5°;94C 

— 19,890 

— i-54^57 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 22$ 



The Value of Exports, 



In 


'755 


— £-535*577 


in 


1782 




in 


1756 


— 628,049 


in 


1778 


— - 702,820 


in 


1757 


— §28,577 


in 


i 7 il 


— 7 6 3> 8 °9 


in 


1760 


— 1,086,205 — ■ — 


in 


1776 


— *>° 2 5'973 


in 


1761 


— 1,165,722 - — - 


in 


1777 


— 837,643 


in 


1762 


— 998,165 


in 


J780 


— 1,002,039 



When we recollect, that Great Britain was en- 
gaged, during the lafr war with her colonies, which 
occupied fb much of the foreign trade of Scot- 
land, with France, with Spain, and with Holland, 
we ought not to be furprifed, that fo much mould 
be loft, as that lb much mould remain, at the end of 
eight years hoftilities. It was deranged, but it was 
not ruined, as had been predicted, in 1774. And, 
when the various preftures of this moft diftrefsful 
war were removed, though with a tardy hand, it 
began to rife; yet not with the elafticity of 1763 ; 
tecaufe the colony commerce, which furnifhed fo 
many of the exports of Scotland, had been turned 
into other channels. But, the following detail will 
enable us to form a more accurate judgment, with 
regard to this interefting fubject : 

The Value of Exports from Scotland, 

in 1762 t .£.998,165 — — in 1782 — ^.653,709 

in 1763 — 1,091,436 in 1783 — 829,824 

in 1764 — 1,243,927 in 1784 — 929..900 

in 1765 — 1,180,867 in 1785 «— 1,007,635 



it 



23O X N ESTIM ATE OF 

It ought, however, to be remembered, that in 
the firft period, complete peace was eftablifhed in 
1763 ; but, in the laft, it was not fully reftored 
till the middle of 1784. Yet, the fhipping of 
Scotland will be found, as we have already per- 
ceived the fhips to be in England, our moft infallible 
guides ; becaufe, the entries of fhips are more ac- 
curately taken than the value of cargoes, and trade 
can fcarcely be faid to decline, while our veflels 
increafe. Let us attend, then, to the following 
detail of fhips, which entered in the ports of Scot- 
land, during the following years^ both before, and 
after, the late war ; 

Foreign Trade. Coaft Trade. Fiihing, &c, 

in 1769 ^- 48,271 tons. 21,615 tons. 10,275 tons, 

in 1774 — 52,225 — 26,214 u* H'9°3 

in 1784 -r~ 50,386 ^ 31,542 — Jo,42i 

in 1785 — 60,356 ^- 36,371 -~ 11,252*. 

It is apparent then, that though the foreign 
trade of Scotland was fomewhat inferior, in 17845 

* The cuftom-houfe account, from which the above detail 
is taken, ftates the (hips to belong to Scotland, accounting each 
only one ^voyage in every year. This comparative eftimate 
of the fhipping, which were employed in the foreign, or over- 
fea, trade of Scotland, may be carried back to the peace of 
1763. Thus, there were employed, in foreign voyages, 

in 1759 22,902 tons. r~r in 1 76 1 — 3 I »4H tonSa 
in 1763 — 33,352 — in 1764 r- 41,076 

in 1782 ~ 40,530 in 179? — 8 4»°?7 

Whence, we may undoubtedly conclude, that Scotland poffeffes 
a much greater navigation at prefent, than at the peace ol 
J763, or at any pripr epoch, 

tQ 



THE STRENGTH 0¥ G. 23 1 

to that of 1774, it was equally ( ; crior to that of 
£769, as that of 1785 was to that of 1774: 
That the eoaft trade was much greater, in 1785, 
than ever it had been in any prior year: And, 
that the timing bufinefs of 17S5 was more exten- 
five than it had been in 1769, but much more 
confined than in 1774, if we may implicitly credit 
die cuftom-houfe books. 

However the foreign trade of Scotland may 
have been deprefied by the colony -war, there is 
reafon to believe, that Die has thereby added to 
her domeftic manufactures. The commercial ca- 
pitals, which could no longer be employed abroad, 
were at length more ufefully laid out at home. 
Inftead of promoting the labour of other countries, 
thefe capitals furnifhed employment to many hands, 
within the kingdom. And, Scotland has, by thefe 
means, extended her valuable manufacture of 
gauzes ; (he has augmented the number of her 
print-fields ; fhe has acquired every branch of the 
cotton bufinefs ; and fhe has greatly increafed her 
linens*, Thus it is, that an active people mav 

be 

* Of Linens there were made for fale ; 
in 1772 - 13,089,006 yards. — in 1782 - 1 5,348,744 yard's. 
J773 ~ Jo,7 4 8,no m* 1783 - 17,074,777 

3774 - 11,422,115 — 1784 - 19,138,593 

1792 - 21,065,386 

The greater number of fhipping, which are at prefent em- 
ployed, than before the war, in the coaft- trade of Scotland, 
Teems alfo to evince an augmentation of domellic commerce. 

This comfortable truth is alfo proved by the increafe of the 
0.4- export 



$3% AN ESTIMATE OF 

be even enriched, by throwing obftru&ions in the 
way of their foreign commerce. And, if pro- 
ductive labour conflitute genuine wealth, the Scots 
may be regarded, at prefent, as a nation more in^ 
duftrious, opulent, and populous, than they were 
before the colony -war began, and much more 
than at the epoch of the Union. 

Thefe obfervations apply equally to England, 
Every occurrence, which at any time turned addi- 
tional capitals into domeftic employments, necef-r 
farily contributed to improve the agriculture, to 
augment the manufactures, to increafe the wealth, 
and to add to the population of the country, by 
yielding a greater quantity of productive labour, 
Ireland, we have clearly feen, add millions to her 
numbers, in the fhort period of little more than a 
century, amidft civil war, and frequent emigrations. 
Scotland, we have alfo beheld, add greatly to her 
effective population, in the effluxion of forty years. 
And, England, like every other civilized country, 
rcvuft, of confequence, have made many additions 
to her p^puloufnefs, during the bufy courfe of 
the laft hundred years. An argument was brought 
forward, with the parade of confidence, to prove a 
contrary poiirion. But, after a fair examination, 
this argument, if it merit that dignified name, has 

export by fea of Scotch, manufactures ; of which there were 
thus exported, according to a three years average, ending 
with 1774, the value of — — — ;£-47 8 >347 
Ditto, with 1792 ~ «— . r— 888,425 



been 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 1^3 

been found to have at leaft the pertinacity of fac- 
tioufhefs, if it have not the frivoloufnefs of folly., 
Let all, then., who, like true philofophers, reafon 
from fads, and deduce from experience, 

" Leave fuch to trifle with more grace and eafe, 
$i Whom folly pleafes, or whofe follies pleafe." 



Chap, 



234 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



Chap. XII. 

A Review of the foregoing Documents propofed. — A 
Juppkmental Proof from a Chronological Table of 
Commerce. — A Commentary thereon. — "The fucceffive 
Epochs from 1660 to 1793. — The Tonnage of 
Shipping. — The Value, of exported Cargoes. — The 
Balance of Trade. — The nett Cuftoms. — The 
Amount of the Coinage in that long Period. — The 
Condition of this Review, which reflecls a flatter- 
ing Prof peel of our future Profperity, 

AR EVIE W of the feveral documents, which 
are contained in the foregoing Eftimate, 
would greatly illuftrate the interefting fubject of 
the profperity, and populoufnefs, of Great Britain. 
As a fupplemental proof, I have annexed a chrono- 
logical account of commerce, in this ifland, from the 
Reftoration to the year 1793, with defign to exhibit 
a more connected view of the weaknefs of its com- 
mencement, the ftruggles of its progreflion, and 
the greatnefs of its maturity, than has yet been 
done. This chronological Table will fpeak to the 
eye, while it convinces the underftanding, and 
comforts the heart. And, the commentary on the 
various heads of this Table will furnifh opportuni- 
ties, which did occur before, of treating of many 
topics that, as they confirm the doubtful, and 
illuftrate the dark, will throw a very pleafant 
light on our future profperity, by taking a fhort 
retrofpeft of the paft, 

I A Chro^ 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 1^ 

Of the chronological table, the eycinftantly per- 
ceives the difpofkion of the parrs, and the intellect 
fully comprehends the arrangement of the whole. 
In the firft column may be feen the fucceflive 
epochs, beginning with the Reftoration, whence 
certainty may be faid to commence, and ending 
with the year 1792, The iecond column gives 
the tonnage of the fhipping, which fuccefTively fail- 
ed from England, diftinguifhing the Englifh from 
the foreign, in order to find, in the amount of 
each, the falutary effects of the act of navigation. 
The third column contains the value of the mer- 
chandize, which were from year after year fent 
out, that the extent of the cargoes may be com- 
pared with the quantity of tonnage, which car- 
ried them : and, though the Scotch tonnage could 
not be adjoined, the value of the Scotch exports 
is added, becaufe every one finds a gratifica- 
tion, in extending his views. # The fourth column 
exhibits the refult of our exports and imports 
compared, which forms what has been denomi- 
nated the balance of trade. The fifth column 
dates the nett cuftoms, which our foreign com- 
merce has yielded, at different periods, becaufe, 
while the detail gratifies curiofity, it furnifhes no 
inconfiderable proof of the profperky, or decline, of 
our traffic. And the laft column contains, what 
may be regarded, as the refult of the whole, die 
films, which have been coined in England, during 
eyery feign, from the Reftoration to the 25 th of 

March 



£*>6 A MT ESTIMATE OF 

March 1703 • becaufe the mint, as Sir Robert Cot- 
ten, expreiies it, is the fulfe of the commonwealth. 

That the progress of our traffic, and navigation, 
from the commencement of the feventeenth cen- 
tury, to the mx& of the Rcitoraticn, had been re- 
markably rapid, all mercantile writers feem to ad- 
mit. The navigation act contributed greatly to 
carry this advance up to the Revoludcn. Sir 
William Petty ftated, in 1670, " that the flap- 
ping of England had trebled in forty years." 
Doctor Davenant afterwards averted *, cc that ex- 
perienced merchants did agree, that we had, in 
1688, near double the tonnage of trading /hip- 
ping to what we had in 1666." And Anderfonf 
inferred, from the concurring teftimony of authors 
on this intereflingfubjeot, <c that the Englifh nation 
was in the zenith of commercial profperity at the 
Revolution. " We have already examined how 
much the commercial gain of cur traders was 
taken away by the war, which immediately fol- 
lowed that moil important event in our annals. 
But the eye mult be again thrown over the chrono- 
logical table, if the reader wifh for a more com. 
prehenfive view of the continual progrefs of navi- 
gation, from the ftation of eminence, to which 
Anderfon had traced it 5 its temporary interruptions ; 
and, notwithflanding the independence of the Ame- 
rican ftates, its final exaltation, in the year 1792, 



* Vol. ii. p, 29. 

| Commerce, vol, ii. p. 187. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 2JJ 

If we compare the greatnefs of 1688, with the 
amount of 1774, 1704, and 1792, we fha.ll dis- 
cover, that the navigation of the latter epochs 
had reached a point of the mercantile heavens, 
lb much more exalted than the former, as to 
reverfe its pofition as to convert what was once 
the zenith into the nadir now. 

Totis EifglHh. D° forefr'ri. Total. 

Contraft 1688 - 190,533 - 95,267 - 285,800 4 
With 1774- 798,240- 65,273- ^63,513 
with 1784 - S^6 y 3ss - "3*064 - 959>4'9 
with 1792 - 1,396,003 - 169,151 - 1,565,154 

The famous Mr. Gregory King cal- 
culated *, " that we gained annually 
on the freight of Englifh /hipping, in 
1688, — — — £. 8io,oco. ,a 

If the " national profit oh the naval 
trade of England, in 1 688," amount- 
ed to £.810,000, what ought to 
have been the national profit on our 
naval trade in 1774? If 190,000 
tons gained £, 810,000, 790,000 
tons mull have gained — 3,36738 $9* 

940,000 tons, including die Scots 
mips, mud alfo have gained, in 

I784, — 4,060,COO, 

And, 1,561,158 tons, including the 

Scots, mull have gained, in 1792, £. 6,655,463. 



* Day. Wories, voL iv. p. 146, 

This 



£3 8 AK ESTIMATE (5 F 

This is doubtlefs a vaft fum to be annually 
gained from our outward freights; but, great as 
it appears, in a mere mercantile lights when as 
large a fum is added to it, for our inward freights, 
the immenfe navigation* from whence it arifes, 
mult be confidered as frill more advantageous to 
the ftatej being a never-failing fource, from which 
Teamen, and tranfports, may be conftantly drawn 
for the ufes of war. If from the tonnage, which 
may be moft fafely followed, in difcovering the 
benefits of our navigation, and commerce, during 
every age, we look into the column of cargoes, in 
the chronological table, we mall find an excellent 
auxiliary, in the ledger of the infpector-general* 
for conducting our inquiries, and forming our judg- 
ments. 

To inveftigate the value of our exports* and of 
our imports, during the difturbed times of our 
Edwards, and Henries, or even in the more tran- 
quil days of Elizabeth, would be a refearch of 
curiofity, rather than of ufe. On a fubjecl of fuch 
difficult dilcufiion* as no fufficient data had yet 
been eftablifhed, the moft judicious calculators 
could only fpeak in terms indefinite, and therefore 
unfatisfactory : yet Sir William Petty, Sir Jofiah 
Child, Dr. Davenant, and Mn Locke, all agreed 
In afierting, that our commerce flourifhed extremely 
from 1 666 to 1688, when it had increafed beyond 
all former example 3 and when its general growth, 
in the opinion of the moft experienced merchants* 
was double in its magnitude at the Revolution, to 
i i its 



THE STRENGTH OF C. BRITAIN. 2J9 

its ufual extent at the Reftoration. In the chro- 
nological table, the value of exported commodities 
was adjufted for both thofe periods, by a ftandard, 
which feems to be thus admitted as juft, by the 
wifeft men in England. 

During that day of commercial darknefs, the 
experienced Sir Philip Meadows, whole prefence 
for fo many years did honour to the Board of 
Trade, fat down to form c< a general eftimate of the 
trade of England" from the amount of the duties, 
which were paid, at the cuftom-houfe, on our 
importations, and on our exports. Directed fay 
his native fagacity, he produced a ftatement of our 
commerce, on an average of the three years of war 
1694 — 95 — 96 ; which appears now, from a com- 
parifon with the entries in the ledger of the infpec- 
tor-general, to have been wonderfully exact. 

The value of exports*, according to 

Sir Philip's calculation, - - £, 3, 124,000 

D% according to the ledger, from Mi- 
chaelmas 1696 to D° 1697 - - . 3,525,907 



* But, Sir P. Meadows excluded from his calculation the 
value of butter, cheefe, candles, beef, pork, and other pro* 
vifions exported to the Plantations, and the value of their 
products imported into England, which were afterwards con- 
fumed ; " being in the nature of our coaft-trade among cur 
own people." Had he included thefe, his ftatement had 
been ftill nearer in its amount to the ledger of the infpe&or- 
^eneraU 



The 



24O , AN ESTIMATE OF 

The value of imports, according to 

him, - -^.3^50,000 

D°, according to the ledger, - - 3,482,587 

The favourable balance of trade, ac- 
cording to him, * - - £. 74,000 
D% according to the ledger, - - 43>34 * 



In the foregoing detail, from which we may 
afcertain, by companfon, nearly the truth, we be- 
hold the inconfiderable extent of the national com- 
merce^ at the peace of Ryfwick, in 1697. 7f faid 
that able ftatefman, the prefeni condition of England 
be not Jatisfatlory to the public, from the general 
account of it here mentioned r , various ways may be 
followed to improve it : And his fuggeftions hav- 
ing been gradually adopted, in after times, pro- 
duced, at length, the wifhed-for effects of an 
active induftry at home, and a profperous naviga- 
tion abroad. From . that epoch, we have in the 
books of the infpector-general all the certainty 1 , 
with regard to the annual amount of our exports, 
and our imports, which the nature of fuch com- 
plicated tranfactions eafily admit. But, mould the 
nation wifh for more fa tis factory evidence, on a 
fubje6t fo interesting, becaufe it involves in it the 
welfare of the ftate, the fame motion, which was 
made in the Houfe of Commons by Mr^Lownds*, 

during 

* " In order to prevent this mifehief [cf exaggerated en- 
trie?-] fays Davenant, a claufe was offered, and very much 

in fated 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. £4! 

during the reign of Queen Anne, to oblige the 
traders to make true entries of their cargoes, may 
be again propofed, and, if it can be freed from 
objection, carried into effect, by parliamentary re- 
gulations. 

Mean time, the tonnage of mipping, which 
tranfported the fuperfluous produces of England, 
has been adjoined, in the foregoing table, to the 
value of cargoes, in order to fupply any defect of 
proof, and to corroborate the certainty of each, 
by a fair comparifon of both. When Sir Philip 
Meadows confidercd, with fo much attention, our 
commercial affairs, he gave it as his opinion, 
<c that the advantage of trade cannot be computed 
Jby any general meafure better than by that of 
the navigation." It requires not, indeed, the 
grafp of Sir Philip's mind to perceive, that the 
tonnage is naturally the evidence the mod to be 
relied on, where there is any doubt : in this mode 
of proof there is no fiction : the entries are made 
at the Cuftom-houfe, on the oath of the mafiers $ 
though the tonnage was fuppofed to contain for- 
merly about one-third lefs than the truth : but, the 
general average being once known and admitted, 
we may argue from the apparent amount, with ro 
more dread of deception, than we mould expect 
from the notices of the moil authentic record. In 
comparing the value of the cargoes with the ex-* 

inilfted on by Mr. Lovvnds, but obflrucled by the merchants, 
for ends not very juIHfiable, and the claufe wa$ not received." 
Bav. vol, v. WhitworuYs edit. p. 443, 

R tent 



24^ AN ESTIMATE OF 

tent of the tonnage, as both are ftated in the 
foregoing table, we ought to infer, that the Irft 
muft always be fuperior in its rifings, and depref- 
iions, to the laft. It was with a view to thai; 
comparifon and this correlpondence, that the bul- 
lion, v/hofe annual exportation for fo many years 
frightened the graveft politicians, was deducted 
from the value of the tranfported merchandize; 
fmce it occupied little room in the tonnage, yet 
fwelled confide rably the calculation of the general 
cargo : But, the exported bullion was retained, in 
forming the balances of trade, becaufe, though it 
cannot prooerly be confidered as a manufacture, it 
ought neverthelefs to be deemed a very valuable 
part of our actual wealth, which we fend abroad, in 
expectation of a profitable return. 

Thus,' we fee in the foregoing documents the beft 
evidence^ with regard to our navigation, and our 
trade* thai the nature of the enquiry admits. He 
who willies to farisfy his doubts, or to gain infor- 
mation, by throwing his eye over the ftate of our 
expofts from 1696 to 1774, as it has been pub- 
lifhed by Sir Charles "W hitworth, or the value of 
cargoes which have been exoorted during the 
prefent reign, as they have been arranged in the 
foregoing table, mull perceive, that when one 
year fuinimes a great exportation, the next fup- 
plies the foreign markets with lefs; the third 
ufuaily fends a cargo fuperior to the firft and the 
fourth gives often a fmaller quantity than the lafh, 
the amount of which however isteldom below the 

a level 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. C.ij 

level of the firft; This linking variation arifes 
chiefly from the irregularities ofuniverfal demand, 
fince foreign fairs are fometimes empty, and ibme- 
times full 5 and partly fiom the fpeculations, per- 
h/.ps :he caprice* of traders. And it has been 
fhewn, from the moft fatisfactory proofs that the 
year of profound peace, which immediately fuc- 
ceeds the conclufion of a lengthened war, always 
exhibits a great exportation, becaufe every mer- 
chant makes hafte to be rich : Thus, 1698, 1714, 
1749, 1764, and 1785, form epochs of great re- 
lative trafnc. But, it is from the averages of 
diftant years, at given periods, that we can only 
form a decided opinion, with regard to the real 
profperiey, or decay, either of commerce, or of 
navigation : Thus, from the Refto ration to the 
Revolution, the foreign trade of England had dou- 
bled in its amount: from the peace of Ryfwick 
to the demife of King Wiiliam, it had nearly ri fen 
in the fame proportion. During the firft thirty 
years of the current century, it had again doubled : 
and from the year 1750 to 1774, notwithstanding 
the interruptions of an eight-years intervenient war, 
it appears to have gained more than one-fourth. 
We had four times more trade, and five times 
more fhipping, in i.79?j than the nation enjoyed, 
in 1702*. 

Though the late war feems to have been le- 
velled rather againft the induftry of the manufac- 
turer and the projects of the merchant, than 

* See the chronological Table, p. 234. 

R 2 ggaiift 



244 AN ESTIMATE OF 

againft the force of our fleets, or the power of out 
armies ; though repeated blows of unufual feverity 
were given to our navigation, and our traffic ; yet 
our domeftic diligence purfues with unabated ar- 
dour its ufual occupations; the number of our 
Shipping at prefent is great beyond example ; and 
our trade, which was faid to be aim oft undone, t 
ftill rifes fiiperior to its lories, and bids defiance to 
prophecy. Let thefe confiderations comfort every 
lover of his country, fince it is difficult to animate 
the defpondent, and it is impoflible to convince the 
incredulous. 

If from thofe exhilarating topics, we turn to the 
column in the chronological table, which is occu* 
pied by the balance of trade, we fhall find rather 
a more melancholy topic. No difquifition has 
engaged the pens of a more numerous clafs of 
writers, than that fruitful fubjec~t; who all com- 
plained of the difficulty of their labours, as they 
were each directed by feeble lights ; and who 
warned their readers of the uncertainty of their 
conclufions, becaufe their calculations had been 
formed on very difputabie data. 

In reviewing their performances, how amufing 
is it to obferve, that though the fagacious Petty, 
and the experienced Child, the profound Temple, 
and the intelligent Davenant, had all taken it for 
granted, as a poftulate, which could not be dis- 
puted, that a balance of trade* either favourable, or 
dijadvantageous, enriched, or impoverifhed, every com- 
mercial country — a writer, as able as the ableft of 
them, mould hay.e at length appeared, who denied 
6 the 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 245 

*tlte truth of its exiftence, at leaft of its efficacy ! 
The late Mr. Hume feems to have written his 
fine Effay on the Balance of *T rade, partly with de- 
fign to threw a difcredit on the declamations of 
Mr. Gee, " which had ftruck the nation witp an 
univgrfal -pink" perhaps more with the laudable 
purpofe of convincing the public iC of the impojfibi- 
Jity of our lojing our moneys by a wrong balance, as 
Jong as we prefer 've our people, and our induftry." 

Whatever wife men may determine with regard 
to this curious, perhaps important fpeculation, 
reafon mean while afiferts, what experience feems 
: to confirm, " that there is a certain quantity of bul- 
lion fent by one nation to another^ to pay for what 
they have not been able to compenfate by the barter 
of commodities, or by the remittance of bills of ex- 
change - 3 which may be therefore deemed the balance of 
trade" And a writer on political ceconomy, who 
is equal to Mr. Hume in reach of capacity, and 
fuperior to him in accuracy of argument, the late 
Sir James Stewart, has examined ^is reafonings, 
and' overturned his fyftem, which is elegant in its 
frruc1:ure,.but weak in its foundation. It behoves 
us, therefore, to look a little more narrowly into 
the ftate of the traffic, which Britain carries on 
with the world, in order to dilcover, if poffible, 
how much bullion fhe pays to each of her com- 
<mercial correfpondents, or how much me receives 
from them. 

Admitting that the apparent tide of payments 
rlowed againft this ifland, anterior to the Resolu- 
tion., it does not feem eafy to difcover the exact 

R 3 po'^t 



All ESTIMATE OF 



point or time, wheii it began to ebo, in a contrary 

direction. 

Sir Philip Meadows, we have feen, 
found a balance in our favour, on 
an average of the bufinefs of 1 694 
—5-6, of — — 

The ledger of the in fpector- general 
mewed a balance, on the traffic of 
1697, of — — — 
The re-eftablifhment of peace gave 
us a return, in 1698, of — 
But, an increafe of imports reduced 
the balance, in 1699, to — 
And an augmentation of exports 
railed the balance, in 17 or, 



; o 

to 



£.74,000, 

43*34^ 
1,789,744, 

1,080,497. 
J*33M4i« 



We now beheld the dawn of knowledge, in re- 
fpeet to this interefcing part of our oeconomy, • 
which has at all times been the moft enveloped in 
darknefs, and which fometimes introduced all 
the unpleafantnefs of uncertainty, and entailed too 
often the gloom of defpondence. But, it ought 
to be remembered, that whether we import more 
than we export, is a mere queflion of fad, which 
depends on no one's opinion, fince, like all other 
fliiputable faels., it may be proved by evidence. 

We muft recur once more to the ledger of the 
infpe&or- general of our foreign trade, as the bed 
evidence, which the nature of the inquiry can fur- 

nifh. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 247 

niih, or perhaps ought to be required. After ad- 
mitting the force of every objedfcioni that has been 
made againft the entries a| the cuitom-houfe, we 
may apply to that curious record of our traffic, 
what the Lord Chief Juftice Hale * aflfeitedj with 
regard to the parim regifters of births and biifiak; 
w that it gives a greater demonfiratipn than a hun- 
dred notional arguments can either evince or confute" 
It was from that fource of accurate information, 
that the balances were drawn, which are inferted 
in the foreo-oing; chronological table \ and it re- 
quires only cc a /natch of fight" to perceive all the 
fluctuations of our mercantile dealings with the 
world, as they were directed by our activity, or 
our caprice, or remiflhefs j and to decide, with re- 
gard to the extent of our gains, at every period, 
by the fettlement of our grand account of profit, 
and lofs, on every commercial adventure. One 
truth muft be admitted, which has been confider- 
ed by fome as a melancholy one, becaufe they 
inferred from it, tc that ive were driving a lofing 
trade" that the apparent balance has been . lefs 
favourable in the prelent than in the preceding 
reign. In order tq account for this unwelcome 
notice, i: has been infilled that, as we grew more 
opulent, we became more luxurious, and, as our 
voluptuoufnefs increafed, our induftry diminiiTied, 
till, in the progrefs of our folly, we found a de- 
light in facrificing our diligence, and ceconomy, to 

* Origination of Mankind, p, 207, 



the 



24-8 AN ESTIMATE OF 

the gratifications of a pleafurable moment, du- 
ring a diffipated age. 

But, declamation is oftener ufed to conceal the 
bewitching errors of fophiftry, than to inveftigate 
the inftrudtive deductions of truth. Confidering 
the balance of trade as an interefting fubjeft to a, 
commercial nation, it muft be deemed not only 
of ufe, but of importance, to enquire minutely 
which of' our mercantile correfpondents are our 
debtors, and which are our creditors; and to ftate, 
which country remits us a favourable balance, and 
to which we are obliged, in our turn, to pay one. 
Nor, is it fatisfaclory to contrail the general ba- 
lances of different periods, in order to form gene- 
ral conclufions, which may be either juft, or falla- 
cious, as circumftances are attended to, or ne- 
glected. From a particular ftatement it will 
clearly appear, that we trade with the greater num- 
ber of the nations of Europe on an advantageous 
ground; with few of them on an unfavourable one; 
that fome Hates, as Italy, Turkey, and Venice, 
may be confidered as of a doubtful kind, becaufe 
they are not, in their balances, either conftantly 
favourable, or unfavourable. Tobanifh uncertainty 
from difquifition is always of importance. With 
this defign, it is propofed to ftate an average of the 
balance of apparent payments, which were made, dur- 
ing the years 1771— 2— 3 to England, by each cor- 
responding community, or which fhe made to them: 
and the averages of thefe years are taken, in order 
t<3 difcover the genuine balance of trade on the 

whole, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 249 

whole, fince they Teemed to be the leaft affected by 
the approaching ftorm. Where the fcale of re- 
mittance vibrates in fufpence, between the coun- 
tries of doubtful payments, an average of fix years 
is taken, deducting the adverfe exceffes of import, 
and of export, from each other. 

Let us examine the following detail of our Eu- 
ropean commerce : • 



Countr ies of favourahk balances. 
Denmark and Norway — £. 7^,478 

— 780,088 

— 190,605 



Flanders -— 
France — 
Germany 
Holland - 
Italy [doubtful] 
Portugal ? 
Madeira £ 
Spain 
Canaries 
Streights 

Ireland —~ — 

Ifle of Man — — 
Alderney — — 
Guernfey \ doubtful] — 
Jerfey [doubtful] — » 



— 695,484 

— 1,464,149 

— 43**89 

— 274>i3 J 
~ 9>5 r 4 

— 442,539 

— 2 3>347 
— — "3>3 ,Q 

— 663,516 

— ~ i3>773 

— i>^9 

6,269 
8,8;o 



Countries of unfavourable balances. 
Eaft country [doubtful] £.100,230 
Ruflia — — 822,607 

Sweden — - — - 117,365 
Turkey [doubtful] — - 120,497 
Venice [doubtful] — 11,369 



£. 1,172,068 
Favourable balance 3*636,504 



£.4,808,572 



j£-4>SoS,572 



Having thus fairly flated the countries of Eu- 
rope, from which we receive yearly a balance on 
our trade, againft thofe, to which we annually 
make unfavourable payments ; and having found 
upon ftriking the difference, that we gained, at 
the commencement of the late war, a nett balance 

of 



AN ESTIMATE OF 

of £*&G$&y$Q4i let us now enquire what wc 
gained, or loft, by our) fact 'cries in Africa, and in 
Alia. / 



Africa — — .^.656,599 Eaft Indies — 
Unfavourable balance 448,9 1 2 



1,105,511 



£. 1,105,511 



Having thus found an unfavourable balance on 
the traffic of our factories, of ^.448,912, it is 
now time to examine the trade cf our former, and 
prefent, colonies, which has too often been consi- 
dered, as the only commerce worthy of our care ; 
as if we had gained every thing, and loft nothing 
by it. 



Favourable balances. 
Newfoundland [doubtful] £.29,484 

Canada — — 187,974 

Nova Scotia — — 14*434 

New England — -— 790,244 

New York — — 343,992 

Pennfylvan/a ■ — — 521,900 
Virginia and 7 

Maryland [doubtful] \ ~* l6 5»*3.° 

Georgia [doubtful] — 360 

Florida — — 37,966 

Bermudas — — 9>54* 

£, 2,121,125 



Unfavourable 
Antigua — * 
Barbadoes — ■ 
Carolina [doubtful] 
Hudfon's Bay — 
Jamaica — 
Montferrat — 
Nevis — 
St. Chriftopher's 
Grenades — 
Dominica •— 
St. Vincent — 
Tobago — 
New Providence 
Tor t ©la — ~ 
St. Croix — 
St. Euftatia — 
Spanifti Weft Indies 
Greenland — 
Balance 



balances, 

— 44 ,r6g 

— 44>9 6 9 
~— 108,050 

— 2,501 

— 753>77° 

— 46,623 

— 47,238 
~ i49>^59 

— 288,962 

— 158,447 

— 104,238 

— 16,064 

— 2,094 

— 23,03s 

— 31,697 

— 5,096 

35>35 2 
18,274 
261,291 



£. 2,121,125 



Let 



THE STRENGTH O? G, BRITAIN* 5jf 

Let us now recapitulate the foregoing balances : 

6:.ined on our European commerce — — — £. j 636,504, 
Deducl the lol's on the trade of our factories ««— — 442,91* 

3> lS 7>59 6 

Gained on the balance of our colony commerce — — 26 r, 291 

Nett balance ga ; n?d on the trade of England — — £. 3,44^,887 
Nett balance pained on tUe trade of Scotland, according 1 
to an average or 1771 — 2 — 3 — — — J 

Nett gain on the Britifh commerce in 177: — 2^-3 — £. 3,824,-844 
Pitta ts- . t — in 1792 — — 5,776,615 

Of an extenfive building, we vainly attempt to 
form an accurate judgment of the proportion of 
the parts, or the beauty of the whole, without 
meafuring the fize of the columns, and examining 
the congruity of the refult, by the fuitabienefs of 
every dimenfion. Of the Britifh commerce, fo 
luxuriant in its (hoots, and fo interwoven in its 
branches, it is equally impoffible to difcover the 
total, or relative, products, without calculating the 
gain, or lofs, that ultimately refults to the nation, 
from every market. Thus, in the foregoing flate- 
ment, we perceive, which of our European cuf- 
tomers pay us a balance, favourable and conftant; 
Which of them are fometimes our debtors, and at 
other times our creditors ; which of them conti- 
nually draw an unfavourable balance from us: 
and, by oppofing the averages of the profits, and 
lories, of every annual adventure to each other, 
we at length difcover, from the refult, the van: 
amount of our gains. The mercantile tranfactions 
U our factories in Africa 3 and Afia« were ftated 

againfr. 



%$% AW 'EST FM ATE OT 

againft- each other, becaufe they feemed to be of 
a fimilar nature. But, whether we ought to con- 
fdeithe balance of ^.448,912 as abfolutely loft, 
mull depend on the effential circumftance, whether 
we confume at home the merchandizes of the 
Eaft, or, by exporting them for the confumption of 
ilrangers, we draw back with intereft what we had 
only advanced: mould the nation prefer the beau- 
tiful manufactures of the Indian to her own, we 
ought to regard her prudence as on a level with 
the indifcretion of the milliner, who adorns her 
own perfon with the gaudy attire, which fhe had 
prepared for the ornament of the great and the gay. 
Our former colonies were Mated againft each other, 
m order to. mew the relative advantage of each, 
25 well as the real importance of the whole. Of 
the valuable products imported from them, which 
feem to form fo great a balance againft the nation, 
we ought to obferve, that they are either gainful,, 
or difadvantageous, as. we apply them : we gain 
fey the tobacco, the fugars, the fpirits, the drugs, 
the dying- woods, which we re-export, to cur neigh- 
bours: we lote by what we unnecefTarily wade. 

The colony-war has added greatly to our an- 
cient fcock *>F experience, by exhibiting the frate 
of our commerce, in various lights, as it was forced 
into different channels, The balance of trade has 
thence affumed a new appearance, as it is fhewn 
hy the cuftom-houfe books. While the exports 
were depreffed for a time, as they had been llill 
jsnofc by former wars, the imports rpfe in the 

fame 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". -2$J 

lame proportion. The value of both 2 from Eng- 
land, was, 



Exports. Imports. 

In 1781 — ^ic.,569,187 — £.11,918,991 

Sa — I2>3 55,75° — 9,532,607 

83 — 13,85-1,671 — 12,114,644 

84 — 14,171,375 — 14,11-9,1-66 
$9 — 18,843,221 — 16,408,140 
90 — 18,884,716 — 17,442,44s 
9 r — *i,435>459 — 17,688,15a 
92 — 23,674,316 — 17,897,700 



The number of mips, which, during thofe years* 
entered inwards, have alfo increafed fully equal to 
the augmented value of cargoes. But, were we 
to form a judgment of the balance of trade by 
the difference, which thus appears from the cufton*- 
houfe books, we mould be led to manifeft error. 
Let us take the year 1784 for an example. Thus 
flood 

Exports. Imports. Balance. 

The Eaft India trade — £. 730,858 — £. 2,996,548 — £.2,265,69? 
The Weft India trade — 1,160,070— 3>372>785 — 2,212,7*5 
The Greenland trade — — 54>°5° — • 

£.1,890,928 — £.6,423,383 —£.4,532,455 

Yet, thefe £.43532,455, confifting of the im- 
portations from our factories, our colonies, and 
fifhery, create no legitimate balance* however -much 
this vaft fum may deduct from the apparent ba- 
lance of the cuitom -houfe account. The fame 
ftatement, and the fame obfervation, may be made 
with regard to the trade of Scotland. To this 
may be added, a melancholy truth, that we have 
'% export of corn^- to- the annual value of ® 

million^ 



254 AN " ESTIMATE CF 

million, which is faid to be owing rather to arl In— 
creafe of people, than to a decline of agriculture* 
and which paflfed with fo much advantage into 
the balance of 1749™ 5 o — 51. In years of fear- 
city, we now import large quantities of corn 3 and 
when fo great a fum is taken from the one fcale* 
and thrown into the other 3 the difference on the 
apparent balance mufl heceflarily be immenfe. 

Of the truth of thefe reafonings, and of thole 
facts, the general exchanges, which are univerisJly 
admitted to have been, for fome years, extremely 
favourable to Great Britain, are a fufneient con- 
firmation. When there exifts no difcrder in the 
coin, the exchange is no bad teft, though it is not 
an abfolute proof, on which fide the balance of* 
payments turns, whether againft a commercial 
country, or for it. The vafh importations of fo- 
reign coin and bullion, finee the eftablifhment of 
peace, prove how much and how generally the 
exchanges have run in favour of this enterprifing 
nation. And the price of bullion, which, during 
this period, has been much lower than had ever 
been known, leads us to infer, that the extent of 
thofe importations has been proportionally great. 

In considering the balance of trade, it is to be 
lamented, that we cannot obtain, from the ton-* 
nage of veiTels, entering inwards, the fame fatis- 
factory information, as we have already gained 
from the numbers of fhipping, which, having car- 
ried out the merchandizes, were brought as a 
confirmation of the value of exported cargoes : 

for, 



THE STRENGTH OF G.. ; BRITAIN. 

for, the materials of manufacture, being much 
bulkier than the manufactures themfeives, require 
a greater number of tranfports. It may, however, 
give a new view of an engaging fab] eel:, to fee 
the tonnage of veffels, which entered inwards at 
different periods, compared with the fuppofed ba- 
lance of trade. 



Ships cleared outwards.— 1709.— Ships entered inwards. 



Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
»43f 6 93 — 45» (,2 5 — 289,318 



289,318 



Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
89,2,98 — 33,901 — 123,199 
Favourable balance of ton- 
nage - - , - 1 66,1^9 

289,318 

Balance of merchandize • — 

* fent out, exclufive of 

bullion - -£-1,402,764 



Ships cleared outwards.— 17 18. — Ships entered inwards. 



Tons Eng. B° foreign. Total. 
427,962 *f i6,Sc 5 — 444,771 



444,771 



Unfavourable balance of 
merchandize fent out, 
exclufive of bullion - £. 308,000 



Ship? cleared outwards. — 17 
Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
476,941 — 26,627 — 5°3>5 68 



Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
35 3: S 7 i — 15,517 _ 369,388 
Favourable balance of ton- 

nage - - - 75,383 

444,77 * 



503,568 



37. — Ships entered inwards. 
Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
374*59 3 — 45,409 — 420,002 

Favourable balance of ton- 
nage - - - 83,566 



503,568 

balance of merchandize . 

fent out, exclufive of 

bullion - « £3*008,705 



Ships 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



Ships cleared outwards. — 175 1-2-3. — Ships entered inwards* 

Tons Eng. D° foreign. 
612,485 — 42,593 - 



Total. 
655,078 



655,078 



Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
435,091 — 61,303 — 49 6 >394 
Favourable balance of ton- 
nage - 158,684 



Balance of merchandize 
fent out, exclufive of 



655,078 



bullion 



Ships cleared outwards. — 177 
Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
711,730 — <>3>*94 — 775> 02 4 



775> oz 4 



1-2-3.— Ships entered inwards. 

Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
608,066 — 123,870 — 731,936 
Favourable balance of ton- 
nage - 43,088 

775,024 

Balance of merchandize ■ 1 ■ 
fent out, exclufive of 
bullion - - ^.3,518,853 



Ships cleared outwards. — 1784. — Ships entered inwards. 



Tons Eng. D° foreign* Total. 
$46,355 — 113*064 — 959,419 
Unfavourable balance — 67,008 



1,026,427 

Balance of merchandize 

fent out - - 52,209 



Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 
869,259 — 157,168 — 1,026,427 



1,026,427 



Ships cleared outwards. — 1790- 1-2. — Ships entered inwards. 

Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. Tons Eng. D° foreign. Total. 

*>3*9>979 — i63>778 — i,493>757 W°>74* — 284,843 — i,535>5 8 4 

t7nfavourable balance — 41,827 

■ ■ —■ Balance of merchandize ■ * 

i»S3S>5^4 fent out, exclufive of 

bullion - - j£'3> 6 55>397 



Frorp- 



a m 



Epochs. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 2ft 

From the foregoing facts, men will probably 
draw their inferences, with regard to our debility, 
and decline, or to our healthfulnefs, and advance- 
ment, according to their ufual mode's of thinking, to 
their accuftomed gloominefs, or hilarity, of mind, 
or to the effufions of the company, which they 
commonly keep. One party, taking it for granted, 
amid their anxieties, that the national commerce, 
domeftic and foreign, is in the laft ftage of a con- 
fumption, may pofiibly attribute a fuppofed idlenefs, 
and inattention, to the excellive luxury, in kind .the 
mod pernicious, in extent the moft extravagant, 
which deeply pervade every order : the other party, 
directed in their inquiries by an habitual cheerful- 
nefs, may perhaps determine, from the bufy occu- 
pations, which they fee in the (hop, and the field, as 
to our activity and attention, the natural forerun- 
ners of profperity, and acquisition ; thinking that 
they perceive, in the heavy loaded mips, as they 
arrive, the materials of a manufacture, extenfive and 
increafing. If any one wifh for the aid of experiJ 
ence, in fixing his judgment, he need only examine 
the affairs of the American States, and cf Ireland, 
during the effluxion of the laft hundred years. A 
great balance of trade ftood conftamly againft both 
thofe countries ; yet, both have more than trebled 
the numbers of their people, the amount of their 
productive labour, the value of their exported mer- 
chandize, and the extent of their real wealth. Fatt 
has, at length, interpofed to give certainty to doubts 
and demonftration has arrived to difpei gloominefs, 
and to ftrengthen hope. The late Jnfpector-Ge- 

S nerai 



to fact p. 234 

A .Chronological Account of COMMERCE in this Island, from the Restoration to the Year 1800 inclufive. 



Epoch. 

The Reftoration, 
The Revolution, 
Peace of Ryfwick, 
Laft Years of Wil- 
liam III. 

Wars of Anne, 
Firft of George I. 
Firft of George II. 



War of - - 
Peaceful Years, 



Virft of George III. 



i66j 7 
1669 J 
1688 
1697 



tA 

■749 1 



Ships cleared outwards. 


\r 


Value of Cargoes Exported. 


II 


Bala, 


ce of Trade. 




II Nell Ctijloms || 
paid into the 

■ £-39°> c °°{ 


- 


Tons EnglinY 
95,266 — 


47.634 — 


142,900 


II f 
£ 


2,043,043 — 


— 


Total 
—£.2,043,043 


1 


Infavour- 7 
able. J 





Total. 


- 


144,264 — 


100,524 — 


244.7 S 8 




4,086,087 — 
3,525,907 — 





— 3.5 2 5>9°7 





)oubtful. — 
■43.320 — 


___ 


£■43.320 


55L140 

694,892 1 




















,386,832 — 




1,386,832 


i,474.86i J 


— 


243.693 — 


45.6 = 5 - 


289,318 




5>9 1 3.357 — 
6,868,840 — 





— 5.9U.357 
6,868,840 




"6,451 - 
.014.175 — 




2,116,451 
3.0I4.I75 


1.257.332 ? 

i.3i5.423 i 


- 


421,431 — 


26,573 — 


448,004 




7.696,573 — 


— 


— 7.696,573 




,504,151 — 




I,9 4.15I 


1,588,162 




43M32 - 


23.651 — 


456,433 




7.891.739 — 




— 7.891.739 


_ 


1514,768 — 





3.514,768 


1,621,-31 




476,941 — 


26,627 — 


503,568 




9.993.232 — 




— 9,993,232 





,642,502 — 




4.642,501 


1,492,009 




384,19* — 


87,260 — 


47L45 1 




8,870,499 — 




— 8,870,499 




.455.313 — 




2.455.313 


1,399,865 




609,798 — 


51.336 - 


661,184 




12,599,112 — 




— 12,599,112 


( 


,521,964 — 




6,521,964 


1,565,942 




451,254 — 


73.456 — 


524,71° 




11,708,515 - 




— 12,371,916 


A 


[046,465 — 




4,046,465 


■ 1.763.3 14 



Money Coined. 



508,220 - 
480,444 - 
561.724 - 
583.934 " 
651,402 - 
684,281 - 
645.835 " 
668,786 - 
709,855 - 
7°3.495 " 
773.39° - 
818,108 - 
77'.483 " 

783)226 - 
778.S78 - 
736.234 " 
657,238 - 
590,911 - 

547.953 " 
552.851 " 
795,669 - 
846,355 - 
95LS5J • 
982,132 • 
1,104,711 • 
1,243,206 ■ 
i,343> 8o ° 
1,26^,828 
1,333.106 
1.396,003 
1,101,326 
1,247,398 
1,030,058 ■ 
1,108,258 
971,596 
1. '63.534 ' 
I.H5.3H ' 
1.269,329 



117,835 
1 20, 1 26 

8 7,293 

67*855 
6i,753 
63,206 
72,734 
63,020 
57.476 
63.532 

54.820 
65,273 
64,860 
72,188 
83,468 
98,113 
139,124 
134.515 
■ 208,511 
157.969 



99,858 
144,131 
178,051 
169,151 
180,121 
209,679 
370.238 
454.847 
379.775 
345. '32 



— 573,978 - 
_ 626,055 - 

— 600,570 - 

— 649,017 j- 

— 658,734 - 

— 719.257 - 

— 746,034 - 

— 709,041 - 
_ 741,520 - 

— 772,375 - 

— 760,971 - 
_ 836,922 - 
_ 890,711 - 
_ 826,303 - 

— 863,513 - 

848,086 - 

_ 851,066 - 

— 819,702 - 

— 755.351 - 

— 730,035 - 

— 753.977 - 

— 711.363 - 

— 761,362 - 

— 953,638 - 

— 959-4' 9 ■ 

— 1,055,253 - 

— 1,098,903 - 

— 1,236.954 ■ 

— 1,365,138 • 

— 1,443,658 • 

— I,4°4>9&° 

— 1,5". "57 

— i,565.'54 ' 

— 1,281,447 

— L457.077 ' 

— 1,400,296 

— 1,563,105 

— i,35i.37' 

— 1,508,666 

— 1,535,926 

— 1,924,042 



14,694,970 • 
14,873,191 ■ 
13,545,171 • 
14,487,507 • 
16,512,404 • 
I4,550,5°7 ■ 
14,024,964 • 
13.S44.5n ■ 
15.n7.983 ' 
13.438,236 ■ 
14,266,654 ■ 
17,161,147 • 
i6,i59.+i3 ' 
.4.703,253 • 
15,916.344 • 
15.202,366 • 
13,729,726 • 
12,653,363 ■ 
11,551,070 ■ 
12,693,430 
11,622,333 ■ 
10,569,187 • 
'2,355.75° ' 
13,851,671 ■ 
14.17 '.375 ' 
15.762.593 
15.38j.987 
17,181,032 ■ 
16,934,994 
13,843,221 ' 
18,1,84,716 
21.435-459 
23,674,316 
19,365,428 
25,665,272 • 
26,146,346 ■ 
29,196, 1 90 
27,699,889 
3. ,922, 580 
34,074,098 
4°.8^5>947 • 



1,000,205 
1,165,722 
998,165 
1,091,436 . 
1,243,927 
1,180,867 . 
1,163,704 
1,245,490 
1,502,150 , 
l,563.°53 ' 
1,729,915 
1.857.334 
1,560,756 
1,612,175 
1.372,143 
1,123,998 
',025,973 
837,643 
702,820 
837,273 
1,002,039 
763.109 
653.7°9 
829,824 
929,900 
1,007,635 
914,738 
1,115,134 
1,189,088 
1,170,076 
1,235,404 
1.296.535 
1,230,884 
1,024,751 
1,084,811 
976,991 
1,322,723 
1,217,121 
1,669,197 

2,346,069 



15.781,175 
16,038,913 
14,543.336 
15.578,943 
17.756.331 
15.731,374 
15,188,668 
15,090,001 
16,620,1 13 
15,001,289 
15,996,569 
19,018,481 
17,720,169 
16,375,428 
17,288,487 
16,326,364 
•4,755.699 
13,491,006 
12,253,890 
13.530.703 
12,624,372 
n.332,296 
13,009,459 
14,681,495 
15,101,275 
16,770,228 
16,300,725 
18, 296,166 

20,013,297 

22,731.994 
24,905,200 
20,390,180 
26,748,083 
27,123,338 
3°,5'8,9'3 
28,917,010 
33.59L777 
35.991.329 



6,822,051 
5263,858 
4,495.146 
6,148,096 
3,660,764 
2,549,189 
1.770,555 
3,239,322 
1,529,676 
2,049,716 
4,339,151 
2,860,961 
3.356,412 
2,888,678 
2.275,003 
2,962,424 
1,472,996 
L379.653 
2.092,133 

1.'>o8,.m,4 



417,082 . 

1 87*545 
357.575 
258,466 

182,715 ■ 

222,293 ■ 

265,501 . 

337.523 ' 

5H.556 ' 

471,005 ■ 

350,492 ' 

496.376 - 

i6 9 ,8u6 ■ 



— 35,309 — 



5,981,682 
7,239,133 
5,553,098 
4,682,691 
6,505,671 
3,919,230 
2,731,904 
1,992,848 
3,5°4,823 
1,867,199 
2,564,272 
4,810,156 
3,2ii,453 
3,852,788 
3>05S,544 
2,275,003 
3,241,716 
1,508.385 
1,379,653 
2,154,634 
1,787,809 



52,209 
862,650 
-75.824 
S4S.935 
383.939 

2,US.° S 2 
8442,267 
3,747,3"7 
5.776.615 
1.S42,'54 



52,209 
862,650 
775.824 
845.935 

3 S 3.939 
2,435,002 
1,442,267 
3.747,307 
5,776,615 
1,542,154 
4,818,273 
4. 6 77>9"7 
7,733,480 
8,179,016 
5,968,419 
9,590.856 
12,581,4,3 



' L9 S 9.934 

• 1,866,152 

• 1,858,417 

■ 2,249,604 

■ 2,169,473 

• 2,271,231 

■ 2,448,280 

■ 2,355,85° 
2,445.016 

■ 2,639,086 
2,546,144 
2,642,129 
2,525.596 
2,439.017 
2.567.770 
2,481,031 
2,480,403 

2!i62.!68i 
2,502,274 
2,7-3.920 
2,791.428 - 
2,861,563 • 
2,848,3:0 . 
3.326,639 - 
4,592.091 • 
4,076,911 - 
3,673,807 - 
3,780,770 - 



3.973,645 
3.565."7 
3,569,360 
3.65',757 
4,m,i05 
5,599.o37 
7.538.355 
6,799.755 



t Charles II. 



By Anne, - 
By George I. 



£• 7,524,i°S 
- 2,737,637 

£ .10,261,742 

• £.10, 511,963 

-£. 2,691,626 
-£■ 8,725,921 



By George III. 
before the 31ft 
of Dec. 1780, 



Gold, 
£ 876,794 - 
698,074 
227,083 
822,126 - 
2,488,106 
1,107,382 
2,849,056 - 
3,664,174 
1,530,711 
2,660,521 
2,456,566 
1,171,863 - 
2,747,43° 
2,558,894 
493,4i6 - 
464,680 
2,000,297 
2,967,504 
449,961 
189,936 - 



IGold, £.30,457,805 
(Silver, - 7,126 



£• 30,464,93 



62,945,863 



0.$% AN ESTIMATE OF 

neral of the Cuftoms, Mr. Irving, vvhofe fervices 
to the public will not foon be forgotten ; and 
who, indeed, ought never to be mentioned but 
with praife ; dated to the Committee of Secrecy of 
the Houfe of Lords, from the details before him, 
that our balance of trade, according to a four years 
average, ended in January 1796, amounted to ten 
million and a half, yearly ; including, indeed, four 
million, as the annual profits of our Eaft, and Weft, 
India trades ; and fuppofing, that the value of Bri- 
tifh manufactures exported, exceeded the Cuftom- 
houfe value, about thirty per cent. — But, it has, 
fince, been afcertained, by the duties collected under 
the convoy act, that the value of Britifh manufac- 
tures exported, exceed the Cuftom-houfe value by 
forty per cent. 

From the balance of trade, which, as an intereft- 
ing {ubject, feemed to merit ample difcuffion, it is 
proper to advert to the column of cuftoms, in the 
chronological table ; becaufe we may derive a fup- 
plemental proof of the fuccefiive increafe of our 
trade, of our commercial knowledge, and of our 
real opulence. Thefe duties had their commence- 
ment from the act of tonnage and poundage, at the 
Reftoration, when the whole cuftoms did not much 
exceed £.400,000. This law, which impofed 5 per 
cent, of the value on goods exported, as well as on 
goods imported, on domeftic manufa5lures, as well as 
on foreign merchandizes ; and which laid particular 
taxes on our own woollens, and double taxes on all 
goods, when Tent out by aliens ; was fureiy framed 
by no very judicious plan, though two and a half 

per 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 259 

per cent, of the value were allowed to be drawn back 
on goods that, having been imported, fhould be 
fent out in a twelvemonth. The publications of 
Mun, of Fortrey, and of Child, foon after the Re- 
ftoration, diffufed more univerfal acquaintance with 
commercial legiflation. The alien duties on the 
export of native commodities, and domeftic manu- 
factures, were judicioufly repealed, in 1673. The 
taxes on the exportation of woollens, of corn, meal, 
and bread, were happily removed in 1 700. Yet, it 
was not till 1722 that, on a fyftematic confideratiori 
of the burdens, which obftructed trade, all duties 
on the export of Britifh manufactures were with- 
drawn, except on a few articles, which, being re- 
garded as materials, were ftill to be fent to rival na- 
tions with difcouragements. Thefe meliorations 
were doubclefs confiderable incentives to exporta- 
tion, by enabling the merchants to fend the goods 
fo much cheaper to market. But, the imports were 
difcouraged then, and have been fucceffively bur- 
dened with new fubfidies, and additional duties, till 
the nett revenue of cuftoms, after various improve- 
ments, fwelled to £«4>027,23o, in 1792*, and to 

* When the eye is thrown over the column of Cuftoms, in 
the Chronological Table, efpecially fince the year 1785, it im- 
mediately perceives inequalities, in the produce of particular 
years, which were owing to particular caufes. Sufpended du- 
ties, which were due from the Eaft India Company, in the years 
1782, and 1783, were paid in 1785, and in 1786. The regula- 
tions of wine, which took place on the 5th of Jaiy J786, and 
on tobacco, the loth of October 1789, made great changes in 



s6o 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



£'7>$3%>35$ fince, in the progrefs of war, and tax- 
ation. 

The column of coinage was introduced, in the 
laft place, as its proper ftation ; becaufe the increafe 
of coins, by means of the operations of the mint, 
arife generally from the profits of commerce, at 
leaft from the demand of circulation : and of con- 
fequence, the quantity of circulating money mufr, 
in every country, be in proportion, nearly, to the 
extent of bufinefs, or frequency of transfers. The 
fears of men, with regard to a wrong balance of 
trade, have not been at any time greater than the 
continual dread of a total deprivation of our coins. 
And both have produced a numerous clafs of 
writers, who have pubiifhed their theories, not fo 
much, perhaps, to enlighten the world, as to give 
vent to their lamentations. 

While the rents of the land were paid in its pro- 
duels ; v/hile the freemen contributed perfonal fer- 
vice, inftead of a fpecified tax ; and while the arts 
had not yet been divided into their clafles, there 
would be little ufe for the convenient meafure of 
coins. The converfion of almoft every fervice,, 
and duty, into a payment of money marks a consi- 
derable change in our dorneflic affairs. And in 
proportion as refinement gained ground of rude- 

the cuftoms. And, by the Conformation- Ac~l, which com- 
menced in 1787, a confiderahle advantage was gained for the 
revenue of cuftoms, as well as for the promotion of trade, by 
the beneficial arrangement of the duties. The increafe of the 
cuftoms is, in other refpe-cb, to be attributed to the augmenta- 
tion of commerce, and to the prevention of fmuggling, and 
slfo, to additional taxes, during the late war. 

6 nefs> 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. Q,6l 

lie is, as induftry prevailed over idlenefs, as manu- 
facture found its way into the nation, and as com- 
merce extended its operations and its influence, 
coins muft have become more numerous, in the 
fubfcquent ages ; becaufe they were more necefTary. 
From the happy acarffion of Elizabeth, we may 
trace with fufficient certainty the progrefs and ex- 
tent of our public coinage. 



Coined by Queen Elizabeth, including the debafed filver of the three 
preceding reigns — in g dd — £. 1,200,000 

in tilver - 



By King James 

By Charles I. — 



4.6,2.9'. 2 
old — £. Sco 000 



in filver 



1,700,000 



2,500,000 



By the Parliament and Cromwell, in filver — — 



in gold — £. t, 723 000 
in iilver — 8,776,544 

— £.10,499,544 

— 1 ,000,000 



Total coined, during a century, 
from 1558, to 1659*, — in gold — £. 3,723,000 

in uiver — 16,109,476 



£..19,832,476 

Coined by Charles II. — — £. 7,524,105 

by James II. — — 2, 737,637 

b£, 10 ,2 6i,742 

by William III. (including the re->coinage]) — . _ c 10,51 ^963 
by Anne ~ . — — * 2,691,626 

by Gearge I. — — — c 8,725,921 

byGi. j: ^eII. f fromi726 } in gold — £.11,662,216 
to 1760 y in myqr v —^ 304,360 

— - — - 13,066,576 



Total coined during a century, from 1659 to 1760 — — £.44,157,828 

Coined byGeorgelll.Sbefore the 7 in gold — £.30,457,805 
y in i\U 



1 ft January 1785 



7,1^6 



CoinedfionrUheiftJanuaryi785, £ in gold — £.32,424,576 
to the 31ft December 1800 i in filver — 56*359 



£.52,480,935 



The Total, in the pref-nt reign — £.6-; 



,866 



a And. Com. vol. ii. p. ic;. 6 Ralph Hift. vol. i. p. 1078= « Camp- 
bell's Survey. d Ibid. e ibid. f Tower Records.' % Mint account. 

s 3 It 



V 



l6l AN ESTIMATE OF 

It did not, however, efcape the penetration of 
Davenant, or perhaps the fagacity of preceding 
writers, — " that all this money was not co-exifting at 
any one time : ,J and he, therefore, endeavoured, with 
his ufual induftry, to afcertain the probable amount 
of our circulation, or the number of our coins, 
during every period, to which either his conjecture, 
or his calculation, could reach. 

In 1600, as he ftates*, there probably exifted, 

in gold £.1,500,000 
in filver 2,500,000 

£• 4>coc,cooj 

which were the tools, faid he, we had to work 
with, when we jxrfl, began to make a figure in the 
commercial world. 

In 1660, there were only, in all likelihood, co-ex- 
ifting, of ever}' preceding coinage, — £.14,000,000, 
Sir William Petty f, who lived nearer the 
time, and had better' information, afferts, 
" that the re-coinage at the happy Restora- 
tion amounted to £.5,600,600 ; whereby it 
3S probable (forne allowance being given for 
hoarded money) that the whole cafh of Eng- 
land was then about — — - £. 6,oco,coo ; 
which, he conceived, was fufficient to drive 
the trade of England." 

And, a confederation of the progrefs of our com- 
merce, from 1600 to 1660, as well as the extent 
of our mercantile transactions, will enable us to de-- 
cide, which of the calculators was mod accurate in 
his ftatenient, and mod fatisfaclory in his inference. 
Sir Jofiah Child indeed remarked, in 66 s, J, cc that 
all forts of men complain much of the fear city of money'; 

* Whit, edit vol. i. p. 364, 

f Pol. Arith. p 278. 

X And. Com. vol. ii. p. 142. 

yet, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. l6$ 

yet, that men did complain as much of a fcarcity of 
money, ever fince I knew the world ; for, that this 
humour of complaining proceeds from the frailty of 
our natures? it being natural for mankind to com- 
plain of the prefent, and to commend the times 
paft." That experienced merchant attributed <c the 
pr effing necejfity for money > fo vifible throughout the 
kingdom^ to the tra.le of hankering, which obftructs 
circulation, and advances ufury." And, from 
Child's State of the Nation, during feveral years, 
fubfequent to the Restoration, we may infer, that 
Petty was nearer the truth, in his reprefentation, 
than Davenant. 

If the amount of our traffic, foreign and domef- 
tic, doubled in the active period, between the Re- 
ftoration and the Revolution, we ought from that 
circumftance to conclude, that the quantity of cir- 
culating coin ought to have been in the proportion 
of fix to twelve ; confequenriy, 

If there had been, in 1660 — £. 6,000,000, 
There ought to have been in 1688 12,000,000: 
Yet, after a variety of conjeclures 

and calculations , Davenant ftates* 

it at — — — 18,500,000"; 



which, he infifted, was altogether neceffary for car- 
rying on our foreign, and domeftic, traffic. But, 
the refult of thofe conjectures, and of thofe calcu- 
lations, derives little fupport, and lefs authenticity, 
from the facts before-mentioned ; which (lie wed, 
* Whit. edit. vol. i. p. 367. 

S. 4 that 



264 AN ESTIMATE OF 

that a country, which, for fo jnany years paid con- 
fiderable balances to the world, could not abound 
in coins. And there was a circumftance of (till 
greater weight, that feems to have been little at- 
tended to by hiftorians, or by theorifts : a rife in 
the intereft of money evinces a fcarcity of fpecie ; 
at leaft it demon Urates, that the fupply is not fuf- 
ficient for every demand. The natural intereft of 
money was eight per cent, from 1624 to 1645; 
and it from this year gradually fell to fix per cent. 
before the Reftoration ; fo that the Parliament were 
enabled, in 1650, to fix by ordinance the legal inter- 
eft at fix per cent.*-, which was confirmed by fta- 
tute at the Reftoration f. Eut, the natural intereft 
of money gradually rofe again, from fix per cent, in 
1660, to feven pounds fix (hillings and fix-pence in 
1690 5 and from this year to feven pounds ten mil- 
lings per cent, before the peace of Ryfwick. From 
1 6 97, the natural intereft of money gradually funk, 
before the year 1706, to fix per cent. and continu- 
ing to fall, the Parliament were, thereby, induced 
[1713] to fix, by ftatute, the /^/intereft at five per 
cent. Yet, 

In 17 1 1, Davenant ftates, <c that there might he of 
gold and Jiher coin in being" to the 
amount of - --£.12,000,006". 

In 168S, he had already found - 18,500,000 

Decreafe in three-and-twenty years £. 6,500,000 



* And. Com. vol. ii, p. 85. 
f 12 Ch. II. c. 13. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN, 265 

It is highly probable, however, that the value of 
the circulating coins might amount to £.12,000,000 
in 17 1 1. The gradual advance of our domeftic in- 
duftry, and foreign traffic,, the reform of the filver 
coin, the confequent augmentation of taxes, and cir- 
culation, the greater credit, both public and pri- 
vate, the finking of the natural intereft of money; 
all demonflrate the impoffibiiity or any diminution 
of our coins, during the period, from the Revolu- 
tion to the year 17 11. Anderfon*, having given 
his fuffrage to Davenant's flatement of 17 it, fays, 
l< that we may reaibnably conclude, as our trade is 
confiderabiy increafed in fifty-one years, the gold 
and filver actually exifting in Britain [1762] can- 
not be lefs than - - £.16,000,000:" 

And we may fairly infer, from the 
reafonings of Anderfon, that the 
gold and filver coins actually 
exifting now [1786] amount to 
Upwards of - £.24,000,000. 



We have feen, during the prefent reign, an ex- 
traordinary augmentation of our manufactures, and 
our trade, a quicker transfer of property, a vaft cre- 
dit, a productive revenue, an unexampled demand 
at the mint for its coins ; which all evince a greater 
ufe for money ; and, confequently, a proportional 
fupply. Speculation has been actually confirmed 
by facts 3 and experience. When, by an admirable 

1 

* Commerce* vol, ii, p, 105, 

operation^ 



-. AN ESTIMATE OF 

operation, a falutary reform was made of the gold 
coin, there appeared, in confequence of that mea- 
fure, a much greater quantity of circulating fpecie, 
than fpeculifts had fuppofed, in oppofition to expe- 
rience. 

The three proclamations— of 1773— of 1774— 
and 1776, brought in, of defective gold coin, 
the value, in tale, of - £' l S>563>593* 

There, moreover, were three 
feveral fums cf foreign gold, 
and light guineas, fent to the 
mint, by the Bank of Eng- 
land, from the end of 177 1, 
to the end of 1777 — 5,200,723. 

The total re-coined — £'20,764,316. 

There remained, in the circle, 
heavy guineas of the former, 
and prefent, reign, light gui- 
neas, which were not brought 
in, and filver — — £. 2,055,763, 

There alio were about two mil- 
lions of light guineas fent to 
America during the war, va- 
lued at — 2,oo0)0co. 



£.24,820,079 * 

r tm 1 - ■ 

* Lord Auckland's Letters, p. 215 ; Mr. Rofe's Brief Exa- 
mination, fixth edition, App. No. 4, 

if, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 267 

If, from the amount of the coinage 

of the prefent reign — £'62,945,8665 
the fum of the re-coinage, at the 

end of 1777, be dedu&ed - 20,764,316; 

we mail fee, in the refult, the fum, 
which the increafing demand of 
the prefent reign required, at the 
mint, exclufive of the re-coinage £.42,181,550. 



It is not eafy to difcover, becaufe proper data 
cannot be readily found, what proportion of the 
coins, which conftituted, in tale, this vaft balance, 
was afterwards melted, or exported. If one-fourth 
only was withdrawn from the circle of commerce, 
this circumdance alone, when compared with the 
quantity of money which, in 1777, was actually 
found in circulation, would demonflrate the exig- 
ence of a greater number of coins ; and, confe- 
quently, the amount, in tale, of £.31,636,152, in 
gold, and in filver, about £.2,250,000, to animate 
our traffic, in daily ufe*. One truth is, however, 
clear, <c that every community ', which has an equivalent 
to give, may always procure as many of the precious 
metals, wherever they may exift, as it wants"-, in the 
fame manner as the individual, who has labour, or 
any other property, to offer in exchange, may at all 
times fill his coffers with medals, or with coins. 

* Such was the opinion of the Lords of the Committee of the 
mod honourable Privy Council, appointed for confidering the 
ftate of the coin. Report, p* 2—5* 

Hence, 



%6% AN ESTIMATE OF 

Hence, we may conclude with Mr. Hume, and 
with fubfequent writers, on political ceconomy, who 
were equal in judgment to him, that while we pre- 
ferve our people, our (kill, and our induflry, we may 
allow the fpecie to find its own way in the world, 
without any other protection., than what is due to 
the juitnefs of our ftandard, in finenefs and weight, 
or any other care, than to give continual notice to 
the credulous, to beware of the tricks of the clip- 
per, the fweater, and the coiner. 

In this manner have I reviewed the Chronological 
*fafr/e y with regard to our Shipping, our Exports, 
the Balance of our Trade, the Revenue of Cuftoms, 
and the fuccefTive operations of the Mint. The 
Chronological Table gives, as it were, a bird's-eye 
view of our whole commercial concerns, from the 
Reiloration to the prefent time, a long and bufy 
period, of domeftic difpute, and foreign war. And, 
the Chronological Table exhibits a retrofpective 
mirror of our traffic, and revenue, which reflects a 
very flattering profpect of our future profperity, 
with regard to both. We may now addrefs the 
defpondent with the gaiety of Swift : 

(t Canlt thou take delight in viewing 
This poor ifle's approaching ruin, 
When thy retrofpedion vaft 
Sees the glorious ages pad ? 
Happy Kation, were we blind, 
Or had only eyesf behind \ 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 



Chap. XIII. 

The Profperity of Great Britain from 1783 to 1793, 
— The Caufes affigned. — The Eaft India Trade. — 
The Fifheries encouraged. — The New Navigation 
Foreign Treaties. — Manufactories promoted. 
— Agriculture encouraged. — A thou/and Lazvs for 
local Improvements. — Revenue ACis. — Financial 
Operations. — Their Jalutary Conjeqitences. 

SO profperous have our affairs been, from the 
conclufion of the peace of 17 S3, to the com- 
mencement of the late war, that curioficy naturally 
de fires to trace up the caufes to their true fources, 
In order to gratify this defire, I propofe to run over, 
rather than develope, the principal meafures, which 
have chiefly contributed to raife this nation, from a 
condition of great defpondency, at the firft epoch, 
to a ftate of unrivalled profperoufnefs, at the J a ft. 
And, I Ihall arrange thofe meafures, ift, as they 
tended to promote the private revenue of the peo- 
ple ; and, sdly, as they were propofed to enlarge 
the public revenue of the nation. 

The affairs of the Eaft India company, which, 
like the affairs of the ftate, were no doubt greatly 
deranged, at the re-eftablifhment of peace, in 1784, 
divided our parties, in refpecl to the mode of re- 
ftoring them. 

Our 



£JO AN ESTIMATE OF 

Our divifions on this head, were foon fettled by 
feveral acts of parliament *, for regulating, rather 
than fuppreffing, the company, for controuling its 
government, rather than deftroying its powers. If 
to thefe laws, we add the Commutation Act f, 
which gave the company great facility in the fale 
of its tea, and the fair trader itill greater advantages 
over the fmuggler, we lhall have a view fufficiently 
diftincl of thofe meafures, which, we fha.ll immedi- 
ately find, produced the happieft effects. The 
credit of the company rofe, in proportion as the 
directors were enabled to fulfil their engagements. 
They divided 8 per cent, to their proprietors ; 
they paid their debts to the public, even fjoner, 
than the molt fanguine had expected : and, before 
September 1786, they were able to reduce the 
intereft on their bond-debts, at home, from 5 per 
cent, to 4, with an avowal, that the creditors, who 
did not choofe to accept of the reduced intereft, 
iliould be paid the principal of their debts J. The 
value of Britifh goods, which were yearly fent to 
China was, in the year 1792, £.626,000, though 
in 1783, and 84, the amount had only been 

* 24 G. III. ch. 34.-26 G. IILch. 62, 
f 24 G. III. ch. 38. 
% The India Stock was, 

in December 1783, at 120. 

in December 1784, at 127* 

in December 1785, at 155. 

in December 17S6, at 166. 

in December 1792, at 191. 

£.120,000. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN, 27 1 

j£. 1 20,000. The (hipping, which yearly failed to 
China, according to a fix years average, ending with 
1792, carried 17,981 tons, though in the fix years 
ending with 1783, the annual tonnage of the China 
(hips was only 6,059. c ^ ere was an vear ty 

increafe, upon the fair importation of teas, of 
12,503,459 pounds *. — The whole quantity of (hip- 
ping employed annually in the India trade, accord- 
ing to a fix years average, ending with 1776, 

was, - 12,071 tons. 

D°, ending with 1792 - 26,033 

The whole value of Britifh manufactures ex- 
ported annually to India, according to a fix years 
average, ending with 1774, 

was, - - - - £. 907,240 
D°, ending with 1792, - 15921,955 

Such was the beneficial refult of the feveral mea- 
fures, for regulating the India Company, with re- 
gard to our (hipping, and manufactures, $0 the 
gains of individuals, and to the revenue of the 
nation ! 

All thefe were equally promoted by the various 

* The annual importation, according to a twelve years aver- 
age, ending with 1784, was - - lib. 5,605,074 
D°, according to a lix years average, ending 

with 1792 - - - - - 18,108,533 

The annual augmentation - lib, 12,503.459 



laws, 



¥]% A ^ ESTIMATE OF 

laws, which were parTed, for encouraging our nau- 
tical interefts. The home fifheries were promoted. 
The Greenland fifhery was encouraged. The 
Newfoundland fifhery was regulated. The South- 
whale fifhery was, in a great meafure, created. 
And, all theie, owing to the enterprize of our 
traders, and the encouragement of the legillature *, 
were carried to fuch an extent, that they may be 
faid to have fomewhat funk under their own great- 
nefs, as mufc ever happen, when the ultimate de- 
mand for the products is not equal to the imme- 
diate fupply. The nautical intereits of the country 
were fo much conh dered, and fo erTectually pro- 
tected, by the act for the increafe of feippxg, that 
this ftatute will be for ever regarded, with thankful 
recollection, as the great charter of our navigation, 
which created the authentic regifter of our naval 
profperity f . 

Additional employment was given to our fhips, 
and our feamen, by means of our treaties with fo- 
reign nations. The commercial agreement with 
France, in 1786, opened a wide field for the ad- 
ventures of our traders. Our conventions with 
Spain, by adding more certainty to our commercial 
enterprizes, in the other hemifphere, gave new oc- 
cupations to our induflrious claries at home. Our 
treaties with Pruffia, and with Holland, had their 

* By 16 Geo. III. ch. 41, 45, 50, Si ; 27 Geo. III. ch. 10; 
28 Geo. III. ch. 20. 

I 26 Geo. III. ch. 60: and 26 Geo. III. ch. 86 ; and 27 
Geo. III. ch e 19, 

facilities^ 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 

facilities, which communicated energy to our traf- 
fic*. And, the renewment of our commercial 
treaty with Ruffia has added {lability to our com- 
merce, in that country, which before was rather un- 
certain. 

Mean time our feveral manufactories were greatly 
promoted by the feveral laws, which were made* 
year after year, for their encouragement f. 

Agriculture was, at the fame time, incited by the 
various meafures, which were adopted, for giving 
energy, and effect, to her operations. The forfeited 
eltates in Scotland were reftored^. The crown 
lands were made more ufeful to the individual, and 
the public. The growth of hemp and flax was 
further encouraged §. And, the corn laws, that lay 
in a ftate of confufion through many flatutes, were 
reduced into a fyftem, which had for its end, the 
interefts, properly underftood, both of the grower, 
and confumerfl. Kad thefe laws produced no 
other benefit to the country, than eftablifhing an ef- 
fectual mode, for afcertaining the average price of 

"* See the treaties, which are mentioned above, in the Col- 
lection of Treaties, that was publiftied by Stockdale, in 1790. 

f In the ten years, ending with 1793, there were twenty* 
nine flatutes patted, for the encouragement ef feveral manufac- 
tures, exclufive of one hundred and fourteen acts, for the encou- 
ragement of commerce. See the Statute-book. 

X 24 Geo. III. ch. 57. 

§ By 26 Geo. III. ch. 43. 

f 51 Gee. III. ch. 30. — 23 Geo. II T. ch, 55. 

T coro^ 



£74 AN ESTIMATE OF 

corn, and thereby preventing caufejefs alarm, they 
had ir.ci'ued the Draiic of moil ufefui regulations. 

During the ten feffions, which ended with that 
of 3793, the Parliament, with unexampled dili- 
gerc", enacted no fewer than cue thoufand> nine hun- 
dred, and thirty-fcur diftinEl fiatutes, for promoting, 
in various ways, the true intereft of the people. Or 
thefe, there were 625 private and 1309 public acts : 
there were twenty -nine for improving manufactures ; 
one hundred and fourteen for commercial pur- 
pofes : and, above all, there were fixty-fix for im- 
proving, and itrengthening, our conrtitutional fyi- 
tem, during a period, when it was fuppofed, that 
the conititution, like our neglected manfions, was 
falling fait into ruins, without the flighteft repairs. 

In addition to all thole laws, for promoting the 
private revenue of the people, there paiTed in the 
eight years, ending with 1792, Jeven hundred and 
fifty Acts of Parliament, for making local improve- 
ments, and domeftic meliorations. Of this remark- 
able fact, here is a curious proof, from the Statute- 
book, in the following 



THE STRENGTH CF G. BRITAIN. 



r. - - 

Z i 5 



Taele ; {hewlr.g the Number cf Ac: 3 cf *\i:ch 
pa. :Ted. :r. : : :b e fbllwir g Vf £.r-, fc: ~ r ?.::.:: ir.d 



Drainir;g,&c. ; for Pavk 




d other ? 


aroc 


ii£dl~p: 


:ven 


tents. 








- - v - 

: 






: "9 ; 


I70I 


170a 




Roads, Bridges, &c. - 

Car.a:: ; Ki.b:un, .*■::. 

Ir.:'.cf-rc-:, Dr_:r.:r.r, 

Paving, and other Paro- 7 
chiat Improvements 5 


22 

20 



*4 


*9 


37 
5 

36 


36 
6 

36 
18 


30 

9 

27 

2C 


44 

13 

39 

. 20 


17 
41 

*9 


.> - - 

*4S 


The Total 





















There is, moreover, a clafs cf ftatutes, which, as 
they a: once promote the private revenue of the 
people, and the public revenue cf the notion, are 
of an amphibious nature* Of this kind were the 
acts, for regulating, and controlling, the India Com- 
pany. We have feen what an augmentation of 
dipping they created ; what an uicreale cf Brituli 
manufactures they fent out ; and, in addition to 
thefe commercial benefits, how much they enabled 
the Company to fatisfy their debts to the public f. 
Of this mixed kind alfo was the commutation -ad, 
which, by deftroying frrrcrgiing; ana facilitating fair 

» Of tbcfe debts, there were paid in 1785, A401.li?. 17. 1.; 
and in 1786 £.5 22.700, 7. £. : araonndng io£gz^ f $ig. 4. 7. 



T 2 



trade. 



•27 £ AN ESTIMATE OF 

trade, gave rile to a great private commerce, while 
it brought a large contribution to the public reve- 
nue *. 

Much of this merit has the confolidation act, 
which facilitates commerce, by its fimplifications, 
and enriches the public income, by its contribu- 
tions f. The various acts againft fmuggling, as far 
as they enlarge fair trade, and make the eilablifhed 
taxes more productive, are entitled to equal praife. 
The wine act J, and the tobacco act§, are both 
entitled to this commendation. The various im- 
provements in the pott-office, fairly merit, yet 
greater laud. We could have little trade, without 
the pod-office, which, by means of trade, yields a 
vaft revenue to the nation. As a proof of this, and 
of the great augmentation of our commercial cor- 

* The immediate effect of this efficient meafure, was the legal 
importation of an additional quantity of tea, amountiog to 
12,503,4.591b. a year. The collateral confequences were, as 
we have feen, a vaft export of Britifh manufactures, and a great 
employment of Bridm ihipping. 

f Thofe contributions amounted, in 1792, to £. 75,434; 
exclufive of the benefits, which that act did to trade, which are 
to be inferred from the vail increafe of the imports and ex- 
ports. 

X The increafed quantity of wine imported, in confequence 
of that act, was 16,694 tons a year, which yielded an increafed 
and nett revenue 0^.290,143. 

§ While this act promoted the real intereft of the fair trader, 
it augmented the public revenue at leaft £.154,000 a year. 

refpondence* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 277 

refpondence, fee the fubjoined ftatement of the 

grofs revenue of the port-office, in the following 
years, ending on the 

5 April 1786 - £471,176 — 5 April 178 - - i*474>347 

D° - 1788 - 509,131 — D - 1789 - 5U>53 8 

r> - 1790 - 533,198 — D° - 1791 - $75>°79 

D° - 1792 - 585,432 — T>° - 1793 - 607,268 

But, of all the meafures, which have been juft 
defcribed, as of an amphibious nature, the finking- 
fund, which began to work, in the three months, 
that ended on the 31ft October 1786, has pro- 
duced the greater! facility to individuals, and be- 
nefit to the public: — To individuals, by creating a 
rapid circulation, and plenty of money, for the 
ufes of bufinefs, by raifing at once the value of the 
produce of our land, and labour, and the price of 
the funds : To the public, by difincumbering the 
nation, before the ift of February 1793, of 
^.10,109,4005 when the finking-fund itfelf had 
increafed to £.1,669,582. a year. 

Such were the various means, which were wifely 
adopted for promoting the revenue of the people, 
fince 1783, either by direct encouragement, or by 
incidental help. Let us now take a flight view of 
the revenue of the nation, during its depreflion, in 
17845 of the meafures, which were adopted for 
raifing it j and of the refult, during its exaltation, 
T 3 though 



27 o AN ESTIMATE OF 

though the retrofpedt feldom affords the pleafures 
of the profpech 

There was, at that epoch, a vaft unfunded debt 
of nine-and- twenty millions, which prelTed down 
the value of the public funds, and even prevented 
the produclivenefs of the national income. 

The yearly intereft of the funded debt, on the 

5th Jan. 1784, was — — — - £. 8,000,284 

The yearly in te reft of exchequer bills was — 260,000 

The annual charges on the aggregate fund, and 

the appropriated duties, were — — 1,040,000 

The ufual eftabiifhments were about — 4,000,000 



The total to be provided for — £.13,300,284 

Por the difcharge of this great fum, there 
was only the permanent income, on the 
5 th of Jan. 17S4, amounting to — £.9,671,206 

The annual land and malt taxes about 2,560,000 

12,231,206 

The total of the annual deficiency in 1784 — £.1,069,073 



Such was nearly the (late of the national account 
of expenditure, and income, during the unpropi- 
tious period of 1784, while the unfunded debt de- 
preifed the whole fyftem of our funds, and credit * ! 

The fame means, which were, at that epoch* 
employed to deprefs the nation, eventually promot- 

* The three per cent, confols, which had rifen to 69, in 
March, 1783, fell to 54I, but rofe to 58, in 1784, and fluctu- 
ated nearly at that rate till July 1785. 



THE STRENGTH Of G, BRITAIN. 279 

ed its falvation. So much was faid of the ruin of 
the country, that the country was almoftperfuaded, 
that it was indeed on the verge of ruin. Yet, 
when the nation was, by thofe means, convinced, 
that effectual meafures were neceffary, the bufinefs 
of faving it, was more than half atchieved. 

The moft efficient meafure, for obtaining this 
great end, was to fund, in the years 1704, and 
1785, the floating debts of the navy, of the victu- 
alling, and of the ordnance, departments, to fo great 
an amount, as to require taxes, which produced 
£. 938,000, for paying the incereft. At the fame 
time, that new taxes were impofed, fyftematic mea- 
fures were effectually purfued, for improving the 
collection of the old, which is ever the beft ceco- 
nomy. Some of the laws, for that falutary pur- 
pofe, have been already noticed. The fmuggling- 
act, the commutation act, and other iimilar lawsj 
have been alfo mentioned, as wife meafures, which 
at once promoted the private income of individuals, 
and the public revenue of the nation. And, the 
beneficial effects evince, that they were attended 
with the moft falutary confequences, 



The 



2"?0 AN ESTIMATE OF 

The beft proof of this may be found in the 
publie accounts of the national income, and expen- 
diture, during the year 1786: 

The nett payments into the exche- 
quer, in the twelvemonth, which 
ended on the 5th Jan. 1786, £.15,397,471 
The expenditure, in this period, was 14,478,181 

The annual furplus of the income* £. 919,290 



By thofe meafures, the nation was now faved. 
This alfo, was the epoch of the finking-fund, 
which carried falvation up to profperity. There 
were other duties added to that furplus of income ; 
fo as to make that fund an efficient million a year. 
To this large fum were added fuch annuities for 
years, and lives, as might expire, in the effluxion 
of time. And, to the whole was thrown in fome 
cafual fums, for giving greater effect to its pro- 
greffive operations. Such was the finking fund, 
which was* a t that epoch, invariably appropriated, 
for buying quarterly fuch of the public fecurities, 
as mould appear to be mod depreciated, and 
thereby to offer the bell bargain to the commif- 
fioners, who were appointed to buy them, on behalf 
of the public. Before the firft of Auguft 1794^ 
there had been received into this fund, fince its 

* See the report of the felecl committee for examining 
the accounts of the public income and expenditure, 21ft 
March 1796. ^ 

eftablifhment^ 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 



28l 



eliablifhment, ^.10,599,265, which were laid out 
by the commirTioners, in purchasing various public 
fecurities, amounting to £.13,617,895*. This, 
then, was the amount of the national debt, which 
had been by thofe means, paid off, before the firfc 
of Auguft 1794. The furn, which was laid out 
for that purpofe, during the preceding quarter, 
amounted to £.408,363. And, if we were to form 
a judgment, from this great fum, which was thus 
applied, we might infer, that the finking-fund had, 
in no long period, nearly doubled itfelf, by the 
productive operations of compound interefl, with 
fome additional aids. 

This finking-fund not only raifed the price of 
the public fecurities, by creating a conftant de- 
mand for them, but it promoted the induftrious 
purfuits of the people, by keeping circulation full, 
and it thereby made the permanent income more 



* The general average, at which that great capital was 
purchafed, was 77J per cent. It is curious to obferve the ope- 
rations of the finking-fund, during thofe times, when we en- 
joyed peace, and were threatened with hoftilities, from the 
prices, which were paid by the commiflioners for the 3 per 
cent, confols, in every quarter. — The firft quarter, ended cn 
the 31ft of October 1786, during which the confols. were pur- 
chafed at 77J : The prices fluctuated, in the following quar- 
ters, as under: — 

J7S7. 



1788. 

Qr. Pr. ! Qr. Pr. 

a ending 31 January 74^6 . 76 
— 30 Apnl - 76 |7 . 75! 



4 3 1 July - 74i » • 74i 

5 3 J October /ijjg . 74! 



1789. 


1790. 


179 1. 


179a. 


Qr. Pr. 


Qr. Pr. 


Qr. Pr. 


Qr. Pr. 


to • 73l 


14-78 


18 . 79i 


z2.88| 


11 . 74 


i5-78£ 


19 • 795 


23 . 9 e± 


12 . 76^- 


16.73! 


*.8ii 


24 . 9 o± 


*3* 80I 


17-761 


11 . 88$ 


25 . 9 oi 



1793- 

Qr- Pr. 

26 . 78! 

27 • 75^" 

28 . 7 6| 

29 • 75f 



produ&ive, 



I 



282 AN ESTIMATE OF 

productive, during every fucceffive year. Thus, 
the permanent taxes, produced, in the twelvemonth, 
ending on the 5th of Jan. 1787 - £.11,867,055 
5th of Jan. 1788 - 12,923,134 



5th of Jan, 1792 - 14,132,000 
5th of Jan. 1793 - 14,284,295 



The whole revenue, in 1783, was below the efta- 
blifiii^ent £.2,000,000. 

The whole revenue, in 1792, was above the efta- 
blifh ment £. 2,03 1 ,000. * 

Such, then, was the revenue of the nation, during 
the depreffion, in 17835 the principal meafures, 
which were adopted for raifing it ; and luch was 
the amount of its exaltation ; when Great Britain 
was forced into another w r ar, by the dire neceiTity of 
unprovoked hoftilities. 



* The Brief Examination, p. 58. 



Chap. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. SSj 



Chap. XIV. 

The Strength of Britain in 1793. — From her Popu- 
loufnefs. — From her 'Trade. — From the Numbers of 
her Shipping and Sailors. — From the Magnitude of 
the Royal Navy. — From her Revenue. — The Loffes 
of her Trade.— -The Bankruptcies of 1793.— The 
Lapfe of the Bank of England. — Our vaft Com- 
merce. — The Improvement of the Country. — The 
Com Trade. — Finance Operations. — The Peace.— 

The Ccnclujicn. 

THE judicious reader has already determined, 
from the experience of the pad, that the na- 
tion was never more able to engage in vigorous 
war, than at the great epoch of her profperity, in 
1792. We never had fo many people, nor fo 
many enlightened, and induftrious, people, who 
were ufefully employed ; and who, with augment- 
ed capitals, obtained greater gains. We never ex- 
ported fo great an amount of the products of our 
land and labour ; as the foregoing facts have fhown, 
and the following details will demondrate : 

The 



284 AN ESTIMATE .OF 

The value of Britifh manufactures, which were 
annually exported to the feveral countries, in Eu- 
rope, except to the Britifh dominions : — 



Six years average, Six years average, 
ending with 1774. ending with 1792. 



To Denmark and Norway 




/. 07,034. 





/.ICO, I 1 I 


To Ruffia — — 




132,257 


— 


278,054 


To Sweden — — 




22,090 




4**575 


To the Eaft Country 




62,996 




78,674 


To Germany — 




43^223 




763^60 


To Holland — 




741,836 




74 6 >7i5 


To Flanders — 




332,667 




386,054 


To France — — 




87,164 




717^07 


To Spain and the Canaries 




878,066 




605,055 


To Portugal and Madeira 




578,951 




6 43>553 


Tr rhe Streights and Gibraltar 


136,713 




250,228 


T Italy and Venice 




618,817 




722,221 


To Turkey — — 




65,189 




73,026 




£.4,185,053 


£.5,466,253 



The value of Britifn manufactures, which were 
annually exported to the Britifn dominions, in Eu- 
rope : 

Six years average, Six years average, 
ending with 1774. ending with 1792. 

To Ireland — —£.1,024,231 — £' 1 >35 2 » 2 9 l 

To the Iile of Man — 2*893 — 17,717 

To Guernfey, Jerfey, &c. — 36,201 — 73>34 2 

To Greenland — — 2 — 1 1 



£• 1,063,327 £. i,443>3 6 i 



The 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. 285 

The value of Britifn manufactures, which were 
annually exported to all other countries, without 
Europe : — 

Six years average, Six years average, 
ending with 1774. ending with 1792. 

To the Britiih Colonies in 

America — — £. 310,946 — £. 697,205 

To the States of America — - 2,216,824 — » 2,807,306 
To the Weft Indies — 1,209,265 — 1,845,962. 
To the Eaft Indies — 907,240 — 1,921,955 
To New Holland - — — - — 3,* 79 

To Africa — — 449,364 — 568,665 
To the South Whale Fifhery — — 75 



£.5,093,639 £.7,844,345 



We never had, at any former period, fo many 
Ihlpping, either for the ufes of traffic, or war, as at 
the beginning of the late hoftilities ; as the fub- 
joined details will clearly evince 

Av.of fears. Ships cleared outwards. Val. of Cargoes* 

In 1772 7 T° ns ^ n S' Tons foreign. Total. 

73 (■ 795*943 - 64,232 - 680,175 -£.15,613,003 
743 
1785? 

86 }> 1,012,899 - 117.471 - 1,130,370 " I 7> 1 23^373 

87 3 
17907 

91 f i>3*9>979 " l6 3>77 8 - l A93>7S7 ' 2 z>5%5>77 1 
92} 



From thefe details, it is fufficiently apparent, that; 
we employ upwards of five hundred and thirty-four 
thoufand tons of (hipping, . more than at the com- 
mencement of the American war; and export a 

greater 



286 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



greater value of cargoes, to the van: amount of 
£.6,972,768. Of our commercial profperity, we 
fhall find fupple mental proofs, if we examine the 
grofs income of the poft -office which has been al- 
ready ftated *j and which mows clearly how com- 
merce and revenue may promote each other. It 
is equaliy true, that the navigation, and nautical 
ftrength, of the country go hand in hand together : 
the mercantile (hipping maintain our naval militia, 
during peace, and our naval militia protect the 
mercantile fhipping, in war. The amount of both 
will appear in the fubjoined Table j comprehend- 
ing the number of Jbips 7 with their tonnage, and 
metiy within every part of the Britifh dominions, in 
the following years : — 



England -. 
Scotland - 
Ireland - 
The Colonic 
Jerfey - - 
Guernfey - 
Man - - 



The Total 



1 * 


1792. 


>793- t 


Ships, 


Tons. 


Men. 


Ships. 


Tons. 


Men, 


Ships. 


Tons. 


Men. 


10,4.23 
2,104 
1,176 
1,686 
8j 
9 « 
84 

1 5> 6 47 


1,168,4.69 
161,486 
69,233 
9 b ?545 
6,144 
6.629 


86,897 

6,63$ 
8,299 
649 
. 4^ 

37 ! 


10,633 
2,143 
i>i93 
i»745 
9 1 
97 
177 


i,t86,6io 
162,274 
69.567 
103,316 
6,851 
7,050 
4>*77 


87,569 

13,49* 
6,73c 
8,389 
72S 

5i3 
866 


10,779 
2,122 
I,l8l 

i,88 9 

02 
89 
177 


1,206,778 
160,642 
67,790 
111,204 
6,787 
7,142 
4, T 77 


87,393 
13,080 

6 »437 
9=49! 
1,087 
661 
810 


I,qiI,40I 


117,113 


16.070 


1,540,145 


118,286 


16,329 


1,564,52c 


«S,95*t 



* In-page 277. 

f The year 1793 contains the fhipping, which were re- 
giflered between the 30th of September 1792, and the 30th of 
September 1793 ; the accounts being made up yearly to thofe 
dates. The numbers, which appear in the account of 1793, 
as prize mips, made free as Britifh, were 661 veffels, contain- 
ing 97,969 tons, 

Such 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". 287 

Such were the number of mips, and failors, 
which, in thofe years, belonged to the merchants, 
within the Britifh dominions ; and which, by proper 
management, may be all converted to the ufes of 
war, if the royal navy were lefs equal to its vari- 
ous objects. 

By examining the following details, we mail ac- 
quire fufftcient information, with regard to the 
comparative ftate of the Royd Navy, in the follow- 
ing years It ccnfifted, 

Tons. 

In 1760, of — 300,416 
In 1774, of — 276,046 
In 1792, of — 433,239* 
In 1800, of ■ — 790.950. 

But, the greater! fleet is of little avail, if we had 
not money to put it in motion. We never had fo 
great a permanent revenue as in 1792. We never 
had fo efficient a finking fund, to give energy to 
private gains, and to augment the public income, as 



* The whole Royal Navy was 


then compofed of 


N°. 


Rates. 


Tons. 


7 


— m 


— 15,664 


21 


— ■ 2d 


— 41,125 


112 


- 34 


— 176,062 


21 


— 4th 


— 22,413 


103 


- 5* 


— 84,115 


42 


— 6ch 


— 23,330 


192 


— Sloops, &c. 


— 7°>53<> 


49 3 




433> 2 39 



when 



AN ESTIMATE Of 

wherx hoftilities began. By the fi amplification, 
which has been lately introduced into the mode of 
Hating the accounts, the amount of the national in- 
come and expenditure, in every year, becomes ap- 
parent to every eye, the moment the ftatement is 
prefented to parliament. It equally contributes to- 
wards our national ftrength, that an account of the 
produce, which each particular tax yields, is now laid 
before the parliament, in order to (how, which of them 
are productive, and which of them are deficiens. 
The appointment of commimoners, for controuling 
the army accounts, have made all officers more care- 
ful both of their receiots, and difburfements. The 
eftablilhing of a new board, for examining the pub- 
lic accounts, has induced all perfons, who receive 
public money, to be more attentive, in the expen- 
diture, and more punctual, in their fettlements. 
And, the • great example, which has been lately 
made, of a ftricTt enquiry, with regard to " un- 
accounted millions/' and the fubfequent repayment 
of many thoufands, has operated as one of the 
refources of the ftate, during the late hoftilities .; as 
rigid ceconomy, in private life, is the mod produc- 
tive income. The facility, with which fupplies 
were found for the late campaigns, is the bed evi- 
dence of the truth of the foregoing pofittons. 

In the midft of the greater! profperity, which 
this flourifhing nation ever experienced, whether we 
regard the income of individuals, or the revenue of 
the State, enfued, at the end of 1792, what was 
denominated, at the time, the " univerfal wreck of 

credit/* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 289 

credit," in Britain. The allufion was to the nume- 
rous bankruptcies, which, certainly, happened, at 
that grievous epoch. I thought then, as I now 
think, that thofe bankruptcies had no connection 
with the beginning of war : and, I fliil think, as I 
then declared, that the derangement of our* private 
credit was altogether owing to an impeded circular 
tiqn % which is, doubtlefs, a commercial misfortune of 
great magnitude. An inquiry into the caufe of 
thofe bankruptcies will develope fome curious cir- 
cumflances, will afcertain fome important facts, 
and will inculcate fome ufeful inftruction. 

At the portal of this inquiry, we fhall find a re- 
mark of Lord Kaims, which is the key to this fub- 
ject. He itates it, as a fact, that from 1694, to 
1744, there were, in Scotland, only thirtyfour tejfio 
bonorums [bankruptcies ;] and, he infers, from the 
fact, as a confequence, how languidly trade was 
then carried on. From 1774 to 1771 there have 
been yearly, thrice thirty-four [bankruptcies] ; 
which is a proof, he adds, of the rapid progrefe 
^ of trade. Every one, he concludes, is roufed to 
adventure, though every one cannot gain *. Had all 
been like this ! but, alas 1 feldom is it, that Lord 
Kaims,- with all his celebrity for labour, ftates his 
facts, with fo much accuracy, or draws his infer- 
ences, with fo much preciHon-. 

We may fee a fimilar progrefs in the annals of 
our commerce, in England. In the infancy of our 



Sketch of the Hiftory of Man, i2mo. vol. I. p. 92. 

U traffic, 



29O AN ESTIMATE OF 

traffic, the bankrupt was regarded by the law* as a 
criminal, who had defrauded his creditors. When 
commerce began to be more pracYifed, and better 
underfcood, the bankrupt was at length confidered 
by our legiflature, and lawyers, as unfortunate, ra- 
ther than fraudulent. The trade of England, after 
languifhing, in its childhood, for ages, was, even at 
the commencement of this century, only in its in- 
fancy. And, at that epoch, we had fcarcely, in 
England, forty bankruptcies, in a twelvemonth. I 
have, in queft of facts, infpedted the London Ga- 
zette, that melancholy chronicle of our commercial 
failures ; and from it have compiled fuch a chrono- 
logical (tatement of annual bankruptcies, as hath 
all the accuracy, that fuch an enquiry eafily admits, 
or truth abfolutely requires. I have thrown it into 
the comprehenfive form of a Table, which is here 
fubjoined : — 



A TABLE 



THE STRENGTH 



OF G. BRITAIN • 



29I 



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O- 


m mo m m m moo co ci 
dco« r jcoi-i ) si-"'-'i-iMM 


d 


t-O 


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ci« ddd>-i «di-iMMd 


<*■ 
d 


Cl 


m m co On O d 00 co *o rj- 

ti M « fl M l-i 


00 
m 


^ 1 1 1 1 1 ■ «» S S3 

£ 3 sz « S S E p 

g •§ a ^Jf g > § 5 8 

^ ^ <J g (flOZQ 

1 Here, 



$92 AN ESTIMATE CF 

Here, let us paufe awhile. — This curious, aiicf 
inftructive, Table, furnifhes important facts, which 
inculcate ufeful inftrudtion. It is apparent, from 
thofe facts, that in the exact proportion, as our 
traffic increafed, from its infancy to manhood, the 
number of bankruptcies, at every period, bore a juft 
proportion to the amount of our trade, and the fre- 
quency of our commercial dealings. The traders 
continually adventured out upon the uncertain ocean 
of commerce, though they did not all return, with 
happy gales, and equal fuccefs, into port. And, the 
nation, which beheld the fhipwreck of their fortunes, 
grew rich from their enterprizes, while flie pitied 
the unhappinefs of their fate. 

If this Table be a faithful mirror of our commer- 
cial misfortunes, we may fee, that the commence- 
ment of Queen Anne's war did not greatly incom- 
mode our traders. The buftle, and bufinefs, of 
her hoftilities appear to have increafed the number 
of bankrupts. The rebellion of 1715 feems to 
have made none. The South-fea year, 1720, ap- 
pears to have involved our merchants in the burft 
of bubbles, though it was public, rather than pri- 
vate, credit, which was chiefly affected, during this 
unhappy year of projects. Our bankruptcies now 
regularly increafed with the augmentation of our 
trade. The rebellion of 1 745 overturned none of our 
commercial houfes. The war of 1756 feems to have 
done a little more rnifchief, though that mifchief 
feems to have decreafed, as hoftilities went on. 
The peace of 1763 augmented the number of 

bankruptcies* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 293 

bankruptcies, though the commercial diftreffes of 
that period feem to have been more in founds than 
in reality. With cur traffic, and bufinefs, our 
bankruptcies continued to increafe in number, and 
magnitude. We perceive how many they were 
augmented, during 1772, and 1773, when our cir- 
culation was impeded, at a moment of uncommon 
profperity. We fee a fmaller number of bank- 
ruptcies, in 1 78 1, when our trade was the moft de- 
prerTed, during the American war, than in 1772, 
and 1773. The two moft profperous years, which 
this nation ever knew, were 1791, and 1792; 
yet, ftrange to tell, the number of our bankruptcies 
was larger than the amount of them in 178 1 the 
moft difaftrous year of the American -war ; fo dif- 
ferent are the informations of facl from the deduc- 
tions of theory. 

We might learn from experience, that profperity 
generally leads on to adverfity, as the higheft health 
is often the forerunner of the worft difeafes the 
chills of ague, or the flames of calenture. We 
perceive, through the feveral months of 1791, and 
ftill more, in 17923 that there lurked, in our com- 
mercial habit* the predifpofing caufes of our com- 
mercial maladies, which broke out into fuch a pa- 
roxyfm, during 1793. Hiftory will record the 
month of November 1792, as a memorable epoch, 
in our annals. It was peculiarly unfortunate to our 
traders. Yet, was it a month propitious to our con- 
ftitution. Whether the apprehenfions of that epoch 
produced any of the numerous bankruptcies of No- 
li 3 yemiper 



•294- AN ESTIMATE OF 

vember 1792, I pretend not to know. I believe,, 
that ail terrors difappeand, when the parliament 
was called, the militia were embodied, and, above 
all, when the nation, with an overpowering voice, 
avowed her attachment to the conftitution, and pro- 
mifed her fupport of the laws* 

Our domeftic quiet was, by thefe means, fcarcely 
fecured, when the French, after various threats, de- 
clared war againft Great Britain, and Holland, on 
the firft of February 1793. The unufual bank- 
ruptcies, in the month of January preceding, can 
hardly be attributed to this fubiequent meafure. 
The firft bankruptcy, which created fufpicion, from 
its amount, was the failure of Donald and Burton, 
on the 15th of February 1793. They were en- 
gaged in the moft uncertain of all traffics 5 in the 
trade of corn - } in (peculations on American corn : 
but, they h?.d fuflained no lofs from the war. On 
Tuefday evening, the 19th of February, the Bank 
of England threw out the paper of Lane, Sen, and 
Frafer, who had never recovered the mocks of the 
American war. And, next morning, they ftopt 
payment, to the amount of almoft a million d£ mo- 
ney. This great failure involved the fate cf feveral 
very fubftantial traders. But, none of thefe houfes 
had fuftained any damage from the war. Svjpicion 
was now carried up to alarm, and, every merchant, 
and every banker, who was concerned, m the circu- 
lation of negotiable paper, met with unufual ob- 
ilruclions, in their daily bufinefs. Yet, it was not 
till the 16th of March, that the long eftablifhed 

houft 



THE STRENGTH CF G. BRITAIN". 295 

ho life of Burton, Forbes, and Gregory, ftopt, which 
was followed, on the 18th, by the failure of their 
correfpondents, Caldwell and Company, of Liver- 
pool, to the amount: of nearly a million. Still, 
neither of thefe great circulators of paper had fuf- 
tained any lofs from the war. And, as fufpicion 
had been carried up to alarm, alarm was now mag- 
nified into panic. 

In the midft of this terror, the whole city of Lon- 
don was frightened at the rule of three. It was an ealy 
calculation, by which it was demonftrated, that, if 
one houfe failed for a million, ten houfes might fail 
for ten millions. Neither thefe calculators, in their 
clofets, nor thofe traders, in their counting-houfes, 
ever reflected, that one bankrupt might pay five 
ihillings in the pound, a fecond ten millings, a third 
fifteen millings, a fourth twenty millings, and a fifth 
rive-and-twenty millings, in the pound. In fact, fe- 
veral bankers, during that panic terror, paufed in 
their payments, who immediately went on as ufual 
with their bufinefs, and fome great traders, who 
were obliged to (top, foon paid twenty (hillings in 
the pound. Yet, ail this while, we had not felt the 
ftroke of an enemy. In this manner, terror created 
diftruft, diftruft impeded circulation, and an im- 
peded circulation is the greater!: misfortune, that, 
can afflict a commercial nation. 

Such, then, were the real caufes of our commer- 
cial diftreiles ! And, fuch was the fad termination 
of feven years of the greateft profperity, both public, 
and private, which this nation had ever enjoyed ! 



2$6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

In the midft of this profperity, a bank was erected, 
in every market-town, I was going to fay, in every 
village. The vail bufinefs, in the country, created 
thefe banks 3 and thefe banks created, by their fa- 
cilities, vatl bufmefs. The rife in the price of the 
pub ic flocks drew immenfe fums of money from 
the country to London 5 and the frill greater rife of 
the public (locks drove vatt fums of money from 
London to the country. Much of this money was 
placed in the country banks, which employed it, in 
fpeculations, to relieve themfelves from this full- 
nefs. But, of fpeculations, there is no end. The 
country bankers tried various projects to force a 
greater number of their notes into circulation, than 
the bufmefs of the nation demanded. They de- 
flroyed, by their own imprudence, the credit of 
their own notes, which mufl ever depend on the 
near proportion of the demand to the fupply. The 
country bankers became ambitious of furniihing 
not only the country, but London, with notes. 
For this purpofe, many of them iffued notes, op- 
tional, to be paid, in the country, or in London*. 
By thefe means, their notes came oftener, and in 
greater numbers, to London, than were welcome, 
in the fhops of London. Thefe notes became dif- 
credited, not only in proportion, as the fupply was 
greater than the demand for them, but as the banks 

* By a lift cf Englifh country banks, which I have now be- 
fore me, containing 279, though not the whole number, it ap- 
pears, that of the 279, no fewer than 204 ifl'ued opiio^al notes, 
^nd of thefe laft fl ftopt payment. 

were 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN", lyj 

were diftant, and unknown, The projects, and 
arts, by which thefe notes were puttied into the cir- 
cle of trade, were regarded with a very evil eye by 
thofe, who, in this management, faw great impru- 
dence, in many, and a little fraudulence, in fome. 
When fufpicion (talked out to create alarm, and 
alarm ran about to excite panic, more than four 
hundred country banks in England fuftained a. 
fhock , all were fhaken ; upwards of a hundred 
ftopt fome of which, however, afterwards went 
on, in their ufual courfe of punctual payments. 

The many which ftopt, th« many that paufed, 
all demonftrate how greatly they -contributed to our 
commercial mifery. The whole number of coun- 
try banks in England was unknown ; their capitals, 
and characters, were unknown. Their imprudence 
only was known, which had already fhaken their 
own credit. And, fufpicion fattened upon all, 
though the event has proved, that they were gene- 
rally more ftable, than had been at flrft fuppofed. 
Yet, few foreign merchants failed. The country 
banks, and country traders, were thofe, who chiefly 
fwelled the unfortunate number of our monthly 
bankruptcies. And, this comparifon is alone fuffi- 
cient to ftiow, that the caufe of our commercial 
maladies arofe at home, without infection from 
abroad; that it arofe from the fullnefs of peace, 
without the misfortunes of war, 

Happy is it for mankind, that they fee little into 
futurity. Had it been forefeen that, in a few 
months, at the commencement of hoftilities, a 
hundred banks would ftop^ and in the fame twelve- 

months 3 



298- AN ESTIMATE OF 

months, thirteen hundred bankruptcies would hap* 
pen ; the whole nation had trembled to its center. 
Pofterity will fcarcely credit the record of the facts, 
that after men a ftorm, in three fhort months, our 
confidence, and credit, were reftored. Unufual 
meafures were reforted to, in parliament, to pre- 
vent the univerfal wreck of credit. Perhaps the 
parliament thought, with Lord Hardwicke, that, if 
there be no precedent, we will make one. The 
very firft emiffion of exchequer-bills, however, in 
1696, for fupporting credit, and helping commerce, 
during the recoinage, was a precedent in pefcc*. 
The iffuing of exchequer-bills, in 1793, was, m 
uncommon, but a very falutary, meafure. T- : 
whole nation was fupported, and fGGthed, by the apv 
pointment of commiffioners, for granting aid to pri- 
vate credit, by exchequer-bills. There never w;:> 
a meafure, fo little alarming, and fo completely ef- 
fectual, as this immediately proved. Of the 
X.5>ooo,oco of exchequer-bills, that were allowc a 
the whole number of applications for loans was 33 
amounting, in all, to the fum of £ 3,8 5 $,624. Of 
thefe applications, 238, amounting to the fum . 
£.2,202,200, were granted. Of the remaining 94 
applications, 45 for the fum of £.1,2 15,000 were 
withdrawn, or not purfued by the claimants : and 
49 applications for the flam of .£.438,3 24, wcr^ 
rejected, either as not coming within the purpofe of 

* Anderfon's Chron. Com. vol. ii. p. 213. «— It Is worthy 0/ 
remark, that in 1696, there were • i^r-bills iftaed for 

fmall fums as ^.5. each, which p; &at they were intended 
for common ufe» 

the 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". 299 

the act, or on account of the inability of the parties 
to give fatis factory fecurity. The whole fum 5 
which was advanced on loan, has been repaid, with- 
out difficulty, or diftrefs. Of the perfoas, who 
were thus afiifted, only two became bankrupt. 
Thefe facts prove, that temporary relief was only 
wanted, and to no great amount. The interefr, on 
thole loans amounted to 13^033: 14: 6| : the 
expence of the management to £.8,685 : 12:4: 
and of ccnfequence, there was a clear profit, from 
one of the happier!, and beft timed, meafures, 
which the wifdom of government ever adopted, of 
£.4,348: 2: i\. In fac% the alacrity of parlia- 
ment to fupport the credit of the country was re- 
lief. May 1793 was the epoch of the greateft 
number of bankruptcies. They greatly decreafed, 
in June \ they decreafed ftill more, in July 5 they 
continued to decrcafe, in Auguft ; and in Septem- 
ber, they fell to be nearly on a par with the num- 
bers, in September 1792. The bufinefs was now 
done*. The expectation of relief actually created 

it, 

* I happen to have the following note, which, I believe, is 
fufficiently accurate to {hew to what parts of the country the 
principal relief was granted : 

There were granted to 

Glafgow — '' £-3 l 9>73® 

Leith — — — 25»75° 

Banff — — — 4,000 

Perth — — — 4,000 

Dundee — . — . — 16,000 

Edinburgh — • — • — - 4,000 
Paifley — . — — 31,000 

Carried over ■ ^£.404,480, 
London 



300 AN ESTIMATE OF 

it. And, the wife determination of parliament to 
fupport both public, and private, credit, quieted 
apprehenfions ; and was extremely inftrumental, in 
re'ftoring mutual confidence; as it gave traders time 
to recollect themfelves, and to look for, and ufe 
thofe refources, which are not often wanting to 
merchants of character and property, in times of 
commercial difficulties. 

In Scotland, the commercial diftrefs, though 
great, was much lefs, than in England. If fcarcity 
of gold and filver would make diflrefs, Scodand 
ought to have had her full (hare of diftrefs. Though 
there be fome variety of opinions, as to what really 
is a banking-houfe, in Scotland, it is certain, that the 
act of parliament*, for fuppreiTing optional paper 
and fmall notes, has introduced into her fyf- 
tem, fince May 1766, a greater circumfpection, 
y/hich has prevented much mifchief f. The great 

principle, 

Brought over — £. 4.04 480 
989,700 
137,020 
246; 500 
41,50a 
310,000 

£. 2,129,200 

* 5 Geo. III. ch. 47. 

f An intelligent friend at G'afgow wrote to me on this fub- 
jeft, as follows ; — " The diftrefs began to be felt here, in a 
few days after it began in London, in the month of February 
faft: but we had no failures till the 28th of March, when the 
banking-houfe of Murdoch, Robertfon, and Company, were 

made 



London 
Liverpool 
Manchefter 
Briftol - 
Other places 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. £0t 

principle, and various provisions, of this falutary 
law, by converting all paper bills into cafh notes, 
which are payable on demand, has been attended 
with the mcft falutary confequences. 

Scotland was not fo much deranged, as England, 
either in her circulation, her manufactures, her 
trade, or her fhipping, during the year 1793. 
Owing to a more attentive management, her banks 
were lefs embariafled. Her circulation being lefs 
checked, its impediments gave fewer interruptions 
to her manufactures. And, her trade and fhip- 
ping, being put in motion by all thefe, were little 
driven from their ufbal courfe, during the ftornv 
which had almolt wrecked the commerce, and na- 
vigation, of England. Of thefe exhilarating truths, 
the following details furnifh ample proofs, what- 

made bankrupt?, for about £ .1 15,000. This was followed by 
the banking -houfe of A. G. and A. Thompfons, who owed 
about £. 47,000. The firft will pay every (hilling to their cre- 
ditors ; and it is fuppofed, that the laft will do fo alfo. One 
or two more of the country banks, in the weft of Scotland, 
were under temporary difficulties, but made no paufe; and 
having got affiftance they went on; and, as all the other banks 
did, drew in their funds, and leffened their engagements. 
Some of the banks here did certainly continue to difcount fome 
bills, but in a lefs degree than formerly. All of the banks 
were under the neceiHty of allowing many of fuch bills, as 
they held to be renewed, at two or three months date, either in. 
whole, or in part, according to cireumftances, which, in facl, 
was the fame thing as a new difcount. In this way all our 
banks have been going on to this hour, by making Renewals, 
when they could not obtain payment, endeavouring to leffen 
the amount at every renewal; fo as gradually to draw in their 
funds/' 

ever 



jC2 AN" ESTIMATE of 

fever may have been the temporary erhbarraflfr 
merits : 

Of linen cloth, there were made for fale> in Scot* 
land, during the years 

Quantity. Value. 

1789 _ 19,996,075 yards - £.779,608. 

1790 — 18,092,249 — 7 2 M45- 
J79 1 — 18,739,725 — 755>546. 

1792 — 21,065,386 — 842,544. 

1 793 — 20,676,620 — 757*332. 

There were exported, by fea, from Scotland* 
goods of the value, in 1782 - of - £. ^S3>7°9* 
in 1786 - of - 914^739- 
in 1789 - of - 1,170,076. 
in 1792 - of - 1,230,884;, 
in 1793 - of - 1,024,742; 



Perhaps a more accurate view of the trade, and 
fhipping, of Scotland may be feen in the fubjoined 
llatement, which exhibits the various fhips, in their 
feveral employments : 



Years 


Foreign Trade. 


Coaft Trade. 


Fifhing Trade. 


Total. 


Ships. 


Tons. 


r 

Ships. 


Tons. 


r 

Ships. 


1 

Tons. 


Ships. 


Tons. 


1789 


793 


84,206 


058 


47.901 


3 8, 


22,798 


2,132 


154,905 


1790 


794 


86,823 


950 


47,688 


361 


19,898 


2,105 


154,409 


1792 


776 


85,468 


1,058 


51,998 


388 


19,632 


2,222 


157,098 


1792 


718 


84,027 


1,022 


50,940 


376 


19,890 


2,1 l6 


"S4* 8 57 


*793 


698 


80,024 


i»H3 


57*318 


393 


*7>973 


2,234 





From 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". ^OJ 

From the foregoing documents, I am now in- 
duced to infer, that the commercial affairs of Scot- 
land were little embarrafTed by the impeded circu- 
lation, in 1793, and ftill lefs by the commencement 
of war. And, from this truth, I am inclined to be- 
lieve that, had not any unufual bankruptcies happen- 
ed, in England, during 1793* from the imprudent 
management of country banks, her trade, and fhip- 
ping, had been little lefiened by fudden hoftilicies. 

Happy is it for mankind, that every evil brings 
its own remedy, unlefs imprudence ftep in, to ag~ 
gravate misfortune, by its reformations* We have 
already derived commercial benefits from our com- 
mercial derangements. Speculators now fee, that 
there are limits, beyond which, they cannot fafely 
pafs. Bankers at length perceive, what indeed re- 
quired not the help of experience, that by ifluing 
too much paper, they may lofe all. Merchants of 
real capital, and true knowledge, will do more bu- 
finefs to more profitable purpoie, fince traders of 
no capital, and little moderation, have been forced 
to give way. Manufacturers have learned, from 
recent mifery, that there are bounds, both to giving 
and receiving, wages *. Diftruft will be banifhed 

from 

* My commercial correfpondem at Glafgow, whofe found 
feme and genuine veracity, I will warrant, wrote to me on the 
9th of December 1793, as follows : — 

" The truth is, that moft of us are of opinion, that the late 
itagnation has been exceedingly ufeful to our trade; and that 
if it does not proceed too far, it will be attended with the moft 

beneficial 



3O4 AN ESTIMATE OF 

from our ifland, as thofe, who flood the teft of the 
late trials, mud, like gold in the furnace, be deemed 
more worthy of confidence. The meafure of iifu- 
ing exchequer bills has at once evinced the alacrity 
of parliament to fupport credit, and the good ef- 
fects, which no van: fum, when prudently applied, 
can produce on the extended furface of general cir- 
culation* And, the whole world has feen, with 
wonder, during the fevereft trials, that the people 
of this nation have vaft property, exclufive of paper, 
and unbounded refources, without exhaufting their 
ftrength. 

Never was this exhilarating truth more fully ve* 
rified than by the events of fubfequent times. One 
of the greater!: of thefe events was the lapse of the 
Bank of England, in February 1797. Panic> and 

beneficial confequenccs to men of real capital : For, previous 
thereto, the fales were fo rapid, the returns fo quick, and mo- 
ney fo abundant, that much bufinefs was eftablifhed upon little 
better than mere paper fpecularion, or circulation alone, which 
as now at an end. The wages of our labourers, too, had got 
to fuch a height, that we muft, in all probability, have been 
gradually undermined in foreign markets, by foreign manu- 
factures; and if this had once occurred, it would have been 
much more difficult to recover from, than any temporary mock, 
like the prefent. Befides, thefe high wages occafioned much 
idlenefs and dimpation ; and much of the time of our workmen 
was confequently fpent in ale-houfes, where they became poli- 
ticians, and government-mongers, reftlefs and discontented. 
Upon the whole, therefore, we may fay with truth, that all, 
which has hitherto happened, has been for the heft." — Thefe 
judicious obfervations apply equally to the whole nation. 

at) 



THE STPvEXGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 305 

an impeded circulation, had well nigh ruined the 
whole country-banks of Great Britain, as we have 
feen, in 179J : and panicky and an impeded circu- 
lation, occasioned that lapfe of the Bank of England, 
in 1797. An inquiry into the affairs of the Bank 
now became neceffary. That inquiry was mi- 
nutely made by Committees of the two Houfes of 
Parliament, feparately. Every trial of the Bank 
ft only publilhed her better commendation." A 
thoufand facts, and circumftances, were nowdifclofed 
to the world, with regard to the wealth, and cir- 
culation of the Bank, which were before unknown 
to the moft intelligent perfons. It appeared, at 
length, that the Bank had, undoubtedly, a clear 
furplus of property, after anfwering all demands, 
of £.15,*. 37,690. It was now difclofed, that there 
was then in circulation of Bank notes, the com- 
modious amount of £.11,030,110*. As it was 
now apparent, that much of that panick had arifen 
from the artifice of the enemy, the Parliament pro- 
hibited payments, by the Bank, in gold, and ill- 
ver, for a time. The traders immediately came 
out with declarations of confidence. Every one 
now ran to receive Bank notes, as if they had been 
fpecie. Credit, both public, and private, was again 
reftored. The fpecie, which had been carried by 
fright into the country, from London, was brought 
back by credit, from the country, to London. 
During the years 1797, and 1798, there were 



Lords' Report, Appendix, No. 10. 

X imported 



3°6 AN ESTTM ATE OF 

imported into this ifland, as a favourable balance, 
£. 8,000,000 in bullion. After the failure of fo 
many country banks, and the paufe of the Bank 
of England, to have furnifhed fuch vaft fupplies for 
war, and to have engrofled the trade of the world, 
are proofs of inexhauftible refources. 

If we were now to inquire into the lofTes of our 
commerce, during the late hoflilities, with fo many 
nations, it would perhaps be found, that the inter- 
ruptions of circulation, and the derangements of 
credit, inflicted deeper wounds on our traffic, than 
the redoubled ftrokes of the enemy, which, as every 
war brings fome difcouragement with it, muft be 
allowed to have made fome defalcations from our 
fhipping, and our traffic. And the apparent lofTes 
of our trade, both from bankruptcy, and war, may 
be calculated from the following detail : 

Ships cleared outwards. Value of Cargoes* 

Tons Englifa. D° Foreign. Total. £. 

In 17857 

86 S 1,012,899 - ii7»47 ! - M3°>37° " *7,i 2 3>373 

17907 

91 I i>ZZ9>919 - i^3--77 8 - M93»757 - ~M 8 5v7* 

92 J 

1793 1,240,262 - 187,032 - 1,427,294 - 20,738.-588 



Yet, our general traffick, owing to the vaft force 
of its energies, foon regained its former profperity. 
It preyed upon the trade of the enemy. We may ea- 
fily perceive how much of our commerce we owed to 
* prize 



THE STRENGTH OF C. BRITAIN. $0J 

prize goods, from the following ftatement of the 
value thereof, which was imported, and exported— 



Prize Goods imported. 

In ! 793 " - £- 560,124, 

94 " - 1,115'H 1 - 

95 " - 877,633. 

96 - - 437*844. 

97 - - 4 8 4>4$ I - 

98 - - 582,128. 

99 ~ - 534^74- 
1800 - - 685,097. 



Prize Goods exported. 

— 1,319,728. 

— 896,517. 
2^31, 

— 99 I -H2. 

— • 1,1201 l6. 

— 1^11,733. 



Our enterprize abforbed almoft the whole commerce 
of Europe. And, owing alfo to thofe caufes, our fo- 
reign trade rofe, by an energetic increafe, from the 
deprefiion of 1 793, amounting to £.20,738,588, to 
its vaft augmentation over the mod profperous 
years, amounting to £.43,152,019, in 1800*. 

If we add to this vaft fum the value of the 
imports, in the fame year, the whole value of 
our foreign trade will appear to be no lefs than 
£.73,722,624. How to calculate the amount of 
our domeftic trade, I know not : it was always 
deemed by our old writers, on trade, Petty and 
Child, Davenant and De Foe, who were as wife 
as we are, though they had not the fame details, to 
be more than our foreign commerce. 

Thofe facts exhibit, then, fuch an immenfe trade, 
as no other country ever enjoyed, in the undifturb- 
ed times of profound peace. If we add to that 



* See the Chronological Table , 

x % 



vaft 



JOS AN ESTIMATE OF 

vaft traffic, the various profits, which are connected 
with it; the gains of freights*-, of the insurances; 
and of agencies ; which were all equally profitable 
to our traders ; we mull greatly enlarge our ideas 
of the vaft gains of our commerce, during the late 
war, which was to exhauft our refburces, and to 
ruin our. traffic. 

The late war is, glorioudy, diftinguifhed by the 
capture of the enemy's corfairs, and by the ruin of 
the enemy's fleets. Our fhipping were never fo 
protected, or fo fafe, in any former war; owing to 
thofe caufes, and to the vaftnefs of the bufmefs, 
the infurances were never made, on fuch reafonable 
terms f- When the fleet, which was employed in 

the 

* Of Brltijh Ships, there were employed, in Britain. 

Inwards. Outwards. 
Ships. Tons. Ships. Tons. 

In 1793 — 9^980 — 1,342,952 — 1 1*175 — 1)240,202 
In 1800 — 10,496 — 1,379,807 — 11,868 — 1,445,171 

There belonged to Great Britain, of Ships, 
Ships. Tons. 
In 1793 — 12,899 1,367,420 
In 1800 — 14,363- 1,628,439 

f The fuhjmned Statement is a fufficient proof: 
Premiums of Insurance from LONDON to 
the Eaft Indies, and China. 

-1779. f.6 per cent. -1782. 1 5 G uineas per cent, 

1792. January to December, £.3 to 3 Guineas; December. 

£ .4 and £.5 per cent, 
1793> January, £. 4I a. 5 Guineas; February and March, S 

G uineas* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN* 3O9 

the Ruffian trade, was recently detained in the 
ports of Ruffia, the lofs of the whole was fettled, 

with 

Guineas; April to October, £.j a. 7 Guineas; Octo- 
ber, &c. 6 Guineas. 

Jamaica. 

1779. With convoy 7 to 8 Guineas; without 15 a. 20 
Guineas. 

1782. 8, 10, and 15 Guineas with convoy. — Premiums higher! 
in the beginning of the feafon. 

1792. £. 2| percent. 1793- January, 3 Guineas; Fe- 
bruary, 5 Guineas, and 7 Guineas ; April, 8 Guineas,; 
June, 4 a. 6 Guineas, with convoy. 

Leeward Iflands. 

1779. With convoy 7 a. 8 Guineas, without convoy 16 Gui- 
neas. 

1782. From 8 to 12 Guineas with convoy.— Premiums high- 
eft in the firft part of the feafon. 
4793- £' 2 ' — 1 793- January, z\ to 3 Guineas; February, 
10 Guineas; March, 5 Guineas, with convoy. 5 
Guineas per cent, the general rate throughout the 
feafon, with convoy. 

Canada. 

1779. With convoy, 10 Guineas; without convoy, 15 Gui- 
neas per cent. 

1782. 15 Guineas with convoy.— 1792. £. 3 to 3 Guineas, 

throughout the feafon. 
1793. 5 to 6 Guineas with convoy. 

American States. 

1782. 15 Guineas with convoy in general throughout the 

feafon. 

1792. ^.2 in general, — — Ditto, 

X 3 ?793- 



3IO AN ESTIMATE OF 

with the facility of the common lofs of a fingle 
fh'ip. This is a tranfaclion of which the Infurers 
of Britain may boaft. The facility, and reafon- 
ablenefs, of the infurances, during the late' war, 
ought to be added to the unufual profits of that 
gainful period. 

Our trade was not only carried on with an ex- 
traordinary degree of fucccfs^ and profit, but, the 
furface of our ifland was improved with uncom- 
mon {kill, and augmented energy. From the re- 
iteration of peace, in 1783, till the commence- 
ment of the war, in 1793, domeftic meliorations 
had been carried on, with eo A ual vigour, and fuc- 

1 793. January, £. 2; February 4th to 2th, 3 Guineas, 4 Gui- 
neas, and 5 Guineas; 23d, 8 Guineas; March, 8 
Guineas, and 5 Guineas, American mips only. The 
general rate throughout the reft of the feafon, 3 
guineas. 

The Baltic. 

%\ Guineas with convoy, 5 Guineas without. — 1782. 

4 to 5 Guineas with convoy. 
1 Guinea to St. Peterfburg, £.\ \ to if to Stettin. 
March, 3 Guineas with convoy to Stettin ; 6 Guineas 

without. 

April, i\ Guineas with convoy to St. Peterfburg ; and 

5 Guineas without. 
July, to St. Peterfburg, 3 Guineas, to return 1 per 

cent, if with convoy, which was the general rate 
throughout the reft of the feafon. Add to all thofe 
details what a very eminent Infurer at Lloyd's Cof- 
fee-houfe has written to me, " that premiums of in- 
" furance, in the late war, have been much lower, 
* f than they were in the American war." 

ceft, 



2779. 

1792. 
*793- 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 3II 

cefs. But, during the late war, our domeftic im- 
provements have been purfucd with frill greater 
knowledge, and more ufeful efficacy. We may fee 
proofs of thofe facts, in the flibjoined 



Table; ihewing the Number of Acts of Parliament, which patted, dur- 
ing the late ivar, for making Roads and Bridges, &c. ; Canals and Har- 
bours, &c. ; for Inclofures and Draining, &c. ; for Paving and other 
Parochial Improvements ; compared with the eight preceding years. 





x 793 


*794 


1795 


1796 


1797 


1798 


1799 


1800 


Total of 8 
Years. 


D° 8 Yrs. 
preceding 


Roads, Bridges, &c. - 


62 


35 


36 


27 


39 


41 


49 


5 2 


341 


302 


Canals, Harbours, &c. 


32 


22 


J 3 


18 


H 


7 


10 


16 


132 


64 


Inclofures, Draining, &c. 


62 


74 


80 


76 




52 


66 


88 


589 


245 


Paving, and other Paro- 7 
chial Improvements 5 


1 S 


5 


10 


8 


7 p 


7 


4 


6 


62 


139 


Total 


171 


136 


'39 


129 


151 


107 


129 


162 


1,124 


75° 



We thus fee, diftinftly, that the active fpirit of do- 
meftic melioration, which exifted, before the war 
began, continued, with augmented energv, during 
the progrefs of hoflilities. The world will contem- 
plate this enterprize with wonder. Millions, and tens 
of millions, have been raifed upon the people, for 
.carrying on an interesting war, yet they found mo- 
ney, as they had fkill, and induftry, to improve their 
ifland. Great Britain, as it has been more im- 
proved, during the war, is worth more, at the con- 
clufion of it, than when unprovoked hoftilities be- 

X 4 gan. 



312 AN ESTIMATE OF 

gan. And, this happy iile, where the foot of the 
foe never treads, if it were brought to the hammer, 
would fell for more, than it would have fetched, at 
any former period, in proportion to its additional 
improvements. 

Yet, what do all thofe improvements of the 
country avail, if the people have not victual to 
eat? This queflion would lead us into the wide, 
and thorny, wildernefs of agricultural reports. But 
though I have been, regularly, fummoned to con- 
tribute a day's labour, in this unweeded garden, I 
have hitherto been frightened by the toil. I had 
the honour to receive, fome months ago, a circu- 
lar letter from the Board of Agriculture foliciting 
iuch pbferyations, as I might have to make, with 
regard to the bell mode of preventing future fear- 
city. But, my various avocations have hitherto 
prevented me from eilaying fo arduous a fubjecl:. 

I will, however, contribute two, or three truifms, 
which may induce fome perfon, who has more lei- 
fure, and more fkill, than I can command) to add a 
few more ; in the hope, that a regular collection of 
truifms may be formed, on this interesting fubjecl: : 
for, amidft a long continued clamour of contradic- 
tion, I have, fcarcely, found any two perfons, who 
could agree upon any one petition. 

ift Truism. There have been ten times more 
agricultural melioration, during the prefent reign, 
than in any anterior period*. Yet, is it, in this 

reign, 



f Tlie foregoing pages furniih abundant proofs of that po- 

fitiori. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 313 

reign, that we appear to have loft the export of 
corn. It would be very abfurd logic to maintain, 
that the furface of our iflarid, in proportion as it is 
improved, by inclofmg, draining; and by every fort 
of manurance, became lefs productive. There are 
two facts, which are incontrovertible, and are very 
interefting : ift. During the fix-and-thirty years, 
which ended with 1800, the furface of our ifland 
was, continually, improved, beyond all former ex- 
ample, and in the laft ten years of this period more, 
than in the firft ten years : 2dly. With the fanae 
fix- and -thirty years, our importation of corn be- 
gan ; and has increafed the mod, towards the con- 
clufion of this long period*. 

2d Truism : During the prefent reign, there 
have been more fkill, more money, and more effici- 
ent work, employed, in our agriculture, than in any 

fition : but, I will rely on an authority, which will not be dif- 
puted. The report of the Committee of the Houfe of Com- 
mons, on the waile lands, Hated, in 1797, 

A Table of the adts of inclofure, with the extent of land in* 
clofed in the following reigns : — - 

No. of a£ts No. of acres 

In Anne's — — 2 — I 439 

In George I. • — — 16 — 17,660 

In George II. — r— 226 — 318,778 

In George 11^. — - — ! >53 2 — 2,804,197 



* The averages in the corn accounts, printed by the order 
of parliament, on the 14th of November, 1800, eftablim the 
facl as to the imports; and the journals of parliament* and 
$he ftatute book, as to the improvements, 

former 



3 I 4 AN ESTIMATE 0? 

former period. By a neceffary progrefs, the nation 
had become more knowing, more opulent, and 
more enterprifing. The farmers have been better 
paid, for their pains, in this reign, than in prior 
times *. It would be a very abfurd argument* then, 
to maintain, that our fields produce lefs, as they are 
better cultivated. 

3d Truism : This ifland muff, neceiTarily, pro- 
duce more victual, in the prefent reign, than in 
any former period. From more (kill, more ex- 
pence, and more manu ranee, the appropriate refult 
mud be more product. He, then, would be an 
abfurd reafoner, who, from fuch premifes, mould 
maintain, that more fkill, more expence, and more 
cultivation, mud neceflarily produce lefs, upon a 
medium of feafons. 

From thole three truisms, there refuks, in my 
judgment, a fourth truifm, though other perfons 
may think, differently, from me upon the point : 
that all the late druggie, canvaffing, and clamour, 
for a general act of inclofure, arc groundlefs. If 
the country be in a continual courfe of improve- 
ment, and if this progrefs of melioration gather 
energy, as it proceeds, this much-fought-for mea- 
fure is groundlefs, in its policy. If a general inclo- 
fure act would divert from profitable employments 
a greater portion of capital, of labour, and of en- 
terprize, than would, otherwife, run into that chan- 
nel, fuch an act would introduce an evil, rather 

* The corn accounts printed by the fald crder of the 14th 
of November, 1800, 

than 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 3 1 5 

than a good, into our political ceconomy. If all in- 
terefts, however, could be made to concur, there 
feems to be no other objection to a general inclo- 
fure act, except, that the fpirit of improvement 
might flacken, perhaps., if that object were obtain- 
ed ; as latitude generally follows enjoyment. 

From the foregoing truijms y I am inclined, 
ftrongly, to think, that there is more visual* pro- 
duced, at prefent, in a bad feafon, than there was, 
formerly, produced in England, and Wales, during 
a gocd feafonf. If we throw into the fcaie the vafi: 

quantity 

•■* I ufe the good old Englim word vicinal, as it was ufed by 
Shakfpeare, and by the parliament, in the reign of Charles II. 
in a larger fenfe, than corn, as ftores for the fnpport of life. 

f The greater!: furplus of corn, which was ever fent out of 
this country, was, in the five years, ending with 1754; and 
which amounted to — • — £. 1,087,594 qrs. 

The quantity of corn, which was imported 
according to an average of the five years of 
fcarcity, ended with 1799, was —■ 1,190,131 



2,277,725 



Now, that quantity would not fupply the additional number of 
people, which enumeration has, at length, found to be 2,830,000, 
who, yearly, confume one quarter each perfon, or 2,830,000 qrs. 
The annual deficiency is no lefs than 552,272 quarters. Mr. 
£)irom argues this queftion, upon the fuppofition, that each 
perfon confumes two quarters ; jft. becaufe he made his eftimate 
not only upon wheat; but, upon oats, rye, barley, malt; 
2ndly. becaufe he included, alfo, the confumption of paltry- 
makers, and ftarch-makers, of poultry, pigs, horfes, which are 
pot ufed in agriculture ; and even the brewery and diftillery, 

The 



3 I 6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

quantity of potatoes, which are now, annually, 
grown, more than there were fifty years ago, the 
balance, will mow, that there is railed at prefent, an 
infinitely greater quantity of visual in bad feafons, than 
there was, fifty years ago, raifed, in good feafons. 

The difficulty, and the diftrefs, of late times, did 
not arife from our producing lefs, notwithstanding 
the unfavourable feafons ; but from our consuming 
more\ in good feafons, we produce infinitely more 
victual, than was raifed in the profperous years, 
ending with 1754; perhaps enough, in plentiful 
years , as we may infer, from the foregoing details : 
but, we confume much more ; as we may learn 
from the well known amount of the imports of 
corn, during recent times. We have 2,830,000 
more people, in England, and Wales, at prefent, as 
we know, from the late enumeration, than there 
exifted, in the fame countries, at the epoch of the 
bounty on corn, in 1609: if each confumer ufe an 
lead one quarter a year, then, the general confump- 
tion of fuch perfons muft be 2,830,000 quarters 
of every fort of grain*: and, confequently, more 

than 

The fact is, the above ftatements of the exports, and imports, 
include all forts of grain : and, confequently, the eilimate of 
the confumplion ought to include every fort of confumer. 

* The Rev. John Howlett fays, Difperjion, p. 11, — <e If 
se thefe additional inhabitants live upon barley, they will each. 
■* require twelve bufhels a year, inftead of eight of wheat ; if 
ft upon oats, nearly fixteen bufhels " Mr. Dirom, in his Corn 
Traces, p. 15, fays, "wheat is double the value of the inferior 
» ; grain ; I fhali throw upon the general confumplion of the 

'< people,. 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. J!^ 

than half a million of quarters beyond the former 
export, and recent import, of corn, added together, 
as we have feen. Neither is there included, in this 
eftimate, the frarch making, the paftry, the poultry* 
meat, the pig-meat, the horfe corn, the diftillery, the 
brewery. The confumption is, therefore, not only 
much greater now 4 than formerly j but many con- 
fumers, who, in lefs opulent times, eat rye-meal, 
and oat-meal, now eat flower of wheat. The con- 
fumption of the whole body of confumers is not 
only more expenfive, but it is more wafteful, at 
prefent, than formerly. A revolution, which has 
gradually taken place, during the laft fifty, or 
fixty years, has leffened the number of fupplicrs, 
and added, largely, to the body of confumers. 
The cottagers have been driven into villages 

'* people, the grain confumed by horfes, which are not em- 
'* ployed in agriculture, hogs, poultry, ftarch-makers, &c. 
*\ and when it is confidered, that a great number of people 
'* live chiefly upon the inferior grain, we cannot, under all 
** thefe circumftances, appropriate lefs than two quarters of the 
*' feveral forts of grain, over-hand, to the confumption of 
si each perfon, upon an average yearly, for bread, beer, fpirits^ 
i( &c." With thofe intimations, the well-informed author cf the 
Corn Traits had already concurred. According to the princi- 
ples of Mr. C. Smith, [Tracts 18] we may now eftimate the 
whole confumption of England, and Wales, which, the enume- 
ration has aiTured us, contain 9,330,000 perfons. 

Quarters. 

Bread corn, at one quarter, each - - 9,330,000 
Corn made into drink - - -. 4,665,000 

Corn for cattle, poultry, &c. - 4,665,000 

The total of home confumption * - 18,660.000 



the 



3lS AN ESTIMATE OF 

the villagers have been forced into towns; and the 
townfmen have been enticed into cities: while the 
cottagers remained in their hamlets; and the vil- 
lagers in their vicinages, they derived much of their 
fubfiftence from the foil, whereon they lived: when 
they became townfmen, and citizens, they ceafed to 
be partly fuppliers, and began to be altogether con- 
fu [Tiers. 

We owe much of this difadvantageous change to 
our modern fyftem of agriculture. This fyftem, as 
it has been long practiced, has produced the moll 
calamitous effects, without effecting all the falutary 
confequences, for which it is celebrated. By con- 
folidating farms to an enormous extent ; by forcing 
cottagers from their hamlets ; by pretending to 
make much profit with little labour ; the agricultural 
fyftem has depopulated, and is depopulating the 
fhires, wherein it prevails. This evil, in our poli- 
tical ceconomy, has been long fufpected: it is now 
certain. There is not a propofition, in the mathe- 
matics, that is more demonftrable, than the pofition, 
that the agricultural fyftem depopulates the coun- 
try*. The agricultural fyftem attempts to ape the 

manufacturing 

* The enumeration of 1801, among a thoufand other infor- 
mations, evinces the truth of that pofition : 

N° of Houfes Ditto Decreafe. 

in 1690. in 1801. 

In Bedfordfhire - - - 12,170 — 12,073 — 97 

£ambridgefnire - 18,629 — 16,451 — 2,178 

Efiex 4°>545 — 39>39 8 — I > 1 47 

Huntingdon - - - 8,713 — 7,073 — 1,641 

Lincoln 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. JI9 

manufacturing fyftem, which has a quite different 
tendency. The great aim of the manufacturing 
fyfrem is to produce a better commodity, at a 
cheaper rate. The conftant effect of the agricul- 
tural fyftem is to produce a worfe commo dity, at a 
dearer rate. While peers fink into peafants; and 
peafants rife into peers s the great body of the peo- 
ple is pining in want. 

There may be politicians, indeed, who, consider- 
ing money as the chief end of all policy, may think, 
that forcing the cottagers into towns, and the vil- 
lagers into cities, is a good to be defired, rather 
than an evil to be deplored. Yes, we have had 
ttatelmen, who laid it down, as a maxim, that 
modern war is merely an affair of expence. 
The wealthier!: nation, it was naturally preform- 
ed, would ultimately be the moil triumphant - 3 and 



Lincoln - — - - 

Norfolk 

Rutland - - - - - 
Suffolk 



45,019 — 

56,579 — 

3,661 — 

47,537 — 



42,489 — 2,530 

49,140 — 7,439 

3,361 — 300 

32,805 — 14,73a 



Thefe are all agricultural counties: and, the diminution of the 
numbers of their houfes, during the intervening period, is 2 
fad demonftration how much the agricultural fyftem tends to 
depopulate the countries, which are comprehended within the 
circle of its unhappy influence. An equal number of the mires 
of Scotland, which have been the moil improved, by agricul- 
ture, have been, in the fame manner, depopulated. The mi- 
niflers of many parilhes, in North Britain, point out, in their 
llatiftical accounts, the confolidation of farms, the iheep-farm- 
Ing, the driving the people from the hamlets into towns, as 
the obvious caufes of the depopulation of their feveral pa- 
ri {lies. 

final 



/ 



AN ESTIMATE OF 

final victory was fuppofed to be appended to the 
weigh tielt purfe. We have lived, however, to fee 
a nation arife> who could make conquefts, without 
money; as, indeed, hiftory had, already, recorded 
the conquefts of poverty over riches. Europe has 
recently feen, that our wealth could not obtain war- 
riors. And we were driven by neceftity, or were 
induced by wifdom, to entruft the fafety of our 
ifland to the virtuous fpirit of our people. Where 
is that illuftrious regiment, which overthrew the in- 
vincible phalanx, to find recruits. If fheep be 
driven into our northern glens, as a more valuable 
animal than the human race ? Where fhall our ar- 
mies obtain the hardieft levies, if the villagers be 
forced into cities ? We may now perceive, that mo- 
ney cannot buy men ; that men are of more value 
than money: the policy, then, which regards riches, 
as the chief good, muft end in the ruin of the (late : 
and that ftatefman, who fhould confider the Exche- 
quer, as the only object of his care, would foon be 
without an Exchequer to care for. From thofe in- 
timations, we may infer what muft be the attentions 
of the wifeft government of the wifeft of people. 

As I have been afked my opinion, with regard to 
fcarcity, the paft, and the future, I will fubmit my 
judgment upon this interefting fubjecl:. During 
the war, and the dearth, I was filent, though I did 
not always approve of what was done, or faid. 
Now, that we have peace, and plenty, I will freely 
deliver my fentiments, which, to thofe, who may 
not recollect, that I am not writing for any partv, 

will, 



THE STRENGTH GF G. BRITAIN, 321 

will, perhaps, appear to be contradictory. It is ne- 
-cefiary, in the firft place, to lay before the reader, 
a Statement of the Prices of Wheat , according to the 
.audit book of Eton College, from 1685, to 1771, 
and from this year to 1801, according to the aveiv 
age of the Eton prices, reduced, however, to the 
ftatute quarter, and to the middling quality, and of 
Mr. Catherwood's prices of England and Wales 5 
of the excefs of Exports and Imports of Corn, from 
the year 1696, to 1800, incluflve, including Scot- 
land, after the union 5 together with the bounties, 
which were paid, during the feveral periods, wherein 
bounties were given : the bounties of the three 
years, ending with 1691, and thofe of the five 
years, ending with 1696, were computed at only 
the half of what the bounties amounted to, in the 
fubfequent years, when the prices of corn were the 
fame. 



A Table \ 



322 AN ESTIMATE OF 

A Tab le ; mewing the average prices of middling Wheat, ^t? ftatyte 
quarter ; the average Excefs of the Exports of every fort of Corn 5 
Flour, and Meal; the average Imports of the fame; and the 
whole Bounties paid on the Corn exported ; during the years of 
the averages : 







line Prices j 


The excels 


The excels 1 


The 








of Wheat j 


of 


of 


Bounties 








per itar. qr. ! 


Exports. 


Imports. 


paid. 


3 years average, 




s. 


d. 


Quarters. 


Qnaiters. 


£• 


ending with 1 638 - 


27 


4 


— 


— 


None. 


5 years D° 


ending 


1691 - 


26 




— 




66,6co 


5 years D° 


ending 


1696 - 


47 


9 







6c,ooo 


5 years D° 


ending 


I7CI - 


42 


8 


139.866 




26,773 


6 years D° 


ending 


1707 - 


2 5 


1 1 


289,304 


— 


310,087 


4 years D° 


ending 


1 7 1 1 - 


49 


9 


299,367 


— 


*92>533 


4 years D° 


ending 


1715 - 


3 / 


8 


453,986 





288,501 


4 years D° 


ending 


1719 - 


1 "* 




485^52 




248,192 


5 years D° 


ending 


1724 - 


28 


10 






388,204 


5 years D" 


ending 


1729 - 


3 7 


7 


216,643 




286,829 


5 years D° 


ending 


*734 ~ 


1 j 


9 


468,844 




445>49 6 


5 years D° 


ending 


1739 ~ 


30 


10 


597,462 





57^550 


5 years p° 


ending 


1744 " 


23 


7 


446,378 




396,941 


5 years D q > ending 


1749 - 




9 


. 93 2 >S93 




775> l 37 


5 years D° 


ending 


1754 - 


39 


s 


1.080,077 




964,340. 


5 years D° 


ending 


l 7S9 - 


3° 




273,805 




3S\>33 2 


5 years D° 


ending 


1764. - 


3° 


7 


676,117 





703,170 


£ years D° 


ending 


1769 - 


43 


? 


— 


233,184 


156,505 


5 years D° 


ending 1774 " 


47 


9l 




276,206 


24oOs6 


5 years D° 


ending 


1779 - 


40 


9 




290,595 


193,225 


5 years D° 


ending 


1784 - 


45' 


9i 




iS5>9o6 


167,764 


5 years D° 


ending 


1789 


43 


3 




198,716 


268,148 


5 years D° 


ending 


1794 - 


47 


2 




V45>5 8 4 


106,544 


5 years D° 


ending 


1799.- 


63 


5l 




1,191,131 


I38 


The one year » - 


1800 - 


113 


4 






7,000,045 



THE STRENGTH OF p. BRITAIN". J2J 

The epoch of the bounty on corn is 1689. la 
my copy of the Statutes, the bounty is called a 
reward to prjons exporting corn*. The price of 
middling whrat, at that epoch, according to a five 
years average, ending with 1689, 2 ^ s - a 
ftatute quarter. A long period of fine feafons had 
reduced the market value to that low price. And 
this low price, and thefe fine feafons, induced the 
parliament to pafs the before mentioned acl, cc for 
encouraging rhe exportation of corn"; when wheat 
fhould be at 485. or under. The value of money 
was, at that epoch, in the ratio of 226, in 1689, 
to 562, in i8cof; and, of confequence, £ 1. in 
16S9, had as much power over the necellaries of 
life, as £. 2. 93-. SJ^. had, in i8co. 

The fine feafons did not continue long. The 
feafons, howe ver, were k fo far favourable, in 1690, and 
1691, as to reduce the prices below the average of 
2 8 s. gd. notwithstanding the bounty, and the act s 
encouraging exportation. The feafons changed from 
good to bad, in 1692 ; and continued extremely un- 
favourable till 1702, when the price fell below the 
averageof 28 s. gd. Thofe times were long remem- 
bered, as the cear years of the Revolution, when the 
price of middling w T heat rofe to 56^. the ftatute 
quarter, in 1696. We have had no fuch fcarcity a 

* 1 Wm. & Mary, ch. 12. 

f See Sir George Shuckburgh Evelyn's interefting, and im- 
portant, Table of the appreciation of money, in the Tranfaftions 
of the Royal Society, 1 798, p. 176. 

Y 2 ar4 



3 24 AN ESTIMATE OF 

and dearth, during late times. The fine feafons re- 
turned in 1702, and continued till 1708. Two, or 
three, unfavourable feafons carried up the prices of 
-wheat to 6 2 s. in 1709, and to 6 is. yd. in 17 10. The 
high prices of i8co, confidering the depreciation of 
money, were not fo high, as thofe of 1709, and 
1710. A long courfe of favourable feafons now 
fucdeededs and continued, with very little interrup- 
tion, till 1756, and 1757, when the price of mid- 
dling wheat rofe to 475. 4 J. the ftatute quarter, 
which, having a regard to the depreciation of mo- 
ney, was (till under the low price of 1689. At 
length, clamour, and tumult, began ; which have 
continued, during bad feafons, till the prefent 
times. 

Some rnfift that the bounties have fructified our 
fields : fome, that they have not prevented the re^ 
turn of bad feafons, nor benefited our farmers, in 
oood feafons. The late Dr. Adam Smith main- 
rained that, without benefiting the farmers, the boun- 
ty did harm, to the great body of the people, in two 
refpects ; it raifed the price, in the home markets 
and it transferred vaft fums of money, at the moft 
4iftrefsful times, from the purfes of the confumers^ 
to the pockets of the jobbers*. The Reverend 
John Howlett, with as found a head as Doctor 
Smith, and more facts before his eyes, cannot fee 
« £ the beneficial operation of the bounty -j-." There 



* Wealth of Nations, v. ii. p. 266. 

f The Difperfion of Gloomy Apprehsnfions, 1797. p. 23. 



. THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 

is a curious circumftance, which neither of thofe 
quick-fighted writers, diftinclly, faw. Till the 
corn act. of 1791^ there was no proper mode pre- 
ferred by law, for afcertaining the prices of grain*. 
The cuftomers, Who computed the bounty, at 
the cuftom-houfe, and the brokers, who received 
it, understood each other : but, neither the growers 
of corn, nor the confumers, knew the prices of 
grain, except the price of the narrow market, where- 
in they dealt. Neither did the king, and parlia- 
ment, during former reigns, know the general prices 
of grain, except from the noife, and tumult, of the 
needy. Now, thofe facts, not only confirm the 
reafonings of Smith, and Howlett, but evince, that 
the bounty went directly from the pockets of the 
confumers into the purfes of the brokers, yet without 
benefiting the growers. From the firft eftablim- 
ment of the bounty till its recent ceflation, from na- 
tural caufes, upwards of feven millions of money 
have been paid by the public, not for a good pur- 
pofe, but for a bad purpofe. It has, moreover^ 
created a continued conteft, by a druggie between 
avarice, and want. And, to the fcandal of the bet- 
ter judgment of the nation, a. probable good has been 
allowed, for more than a century, to outface two 
pofitive evils : the probable good was the fuppofed 
fructification of our fields : the two pofitive evils 
were the payment of feven millions of money, for 

* The regifter of corn prices began, indeed, in j 771 • but, 
it was inadequate to its end. 

Y 3 makkg 



?;l6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

leaking corn dearer in the home market, without 
contributing; to the manurance of* the foil*. 

The firuggie, and perfeverance^ in promoting the 
export of the produce of agriculture, in former 
times, appears quite wonderful to the haraffed eyes 
of the prefent days. The dear years of the Revo- 
lution began, in 1692. The prices of grain role to 
the greatefi: heighth, in 1696. They continued very 
high till 1699* when they began to abate, till the 
better feafons returned, in 1700. The export of 
corn was prohibited, in 1699, ^ or onc vear t* 1 ^ e 
bounty was, foon afterwards, withdrawn, from the 
9th of February > 1699, to* the 20th of September, 
1 700 J. And,, the duties, which were payable on 
the export of victual was repealed, for ever, in 
1700 §, From thofe facts, it is apparent, that the 
king, and parliament, in thofe days, either did not 

know 

* By the corn a& of *773V the original bounty price of 48 /. 
a quarter of wheat was reduced to a rate under 44 s. ; and this 
reduced rate was continued by the torn act of 179 1. But, the 
20 G. 3. ch. 51, feemed to introduce a new principle, when it 
allowed only one half of the bounty on corn, exported in neu- 
tral (hips. 

f By 10 Wm. ch, 3. By 50, 11, Wm. ch. 4, the diflillery 
was Hopped, for a feafon. 

I Bv 11 Wm. ch. 1.— * All thofe alleviation came, after the 

evil day had paiTed. 

§ By 11, J 2, Wm. ch, 20. — Daring that reign too, there 
was paffed M An Aft for the encouragement of the breeding 
« and feeding of cattle." 3: Wm. & M. ch. 8. The great ob~ 

jecfc 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 327 

know the ftate of the prices, or did not fed, for the 
miieries of the poor, with the fame pungency, as 
the king, and parliament, feel at preienfc The 
years 1709, and 1710,- were times of greater dearths, 
though perhaps oflefs calamity, than thofe of king 
William's reign. The only anodyne, which was 
applied, in thofe two years, was the meafure of pre- 
venting the export of corn, for one year, without 
withdrawing the bounty*. There was very little 
grain imported, during thofe two periods of feverc 
dearths. And, this fact feems to evince, that the pre- 
vailing paffion for export, on both thofe fad oc- 
cafions, drove the confumers to rigid ceconomy, 
which, generally, is the bed refource. 

A long courfe of favourable feafons prevented the 
return of dearth till 1740, which was not compara- 
ble to the dear years of king William, and queen 
Anne. The export of corn was, however, (lopped, 
in 1741. The fame meafure was adopted, in 1757^ 
when a worfe feafon, in the preceding year, occa- 
fioned a louder outcry, and greater tumult. The 
outcry, and the tumult, and the alarm, rofe to 
a greater height, during the unfavourable feafons of 

;ecl of this encouragement, which was given at the com- 
mencement of the dear years, confifted, in taking off the 
duties on the exportation of all the products of agriculture. I 
do not oblerve, that any meafure was taken, during nine years 
of want, to flop the exportation, or to repeal this aft, giving a 
reward, for raifing the prices of the products of agriculture, in 
the home market. 

* By the 8 An. ch. 2. 

Y 4 



AN ESTIMATE OF 

1765, 1766, 1767, though neither the nominal, ncr 
the real, prices of victual were equal to thole of the 
times of queen Anne, or king William. It wa3 
this clamour of contradiction, which induced inge- 
nious men to attribute the apparent prices, and fub- 
fequent diftrefs, to the depredation of money. Mori- 
tefquieu, and Hume, had already calked of the ef- 
fect of riches, and luxury, upon the necellaries of 
life. But, it was Soame Jenyns, who long fat 
at the Board of Trade, who profefledly incul- 
cated, " that the prefent high price of provifions 
<c [ 1 766] arifes, principally, from the poverty cf 
<c the public and the wealth of individuals*. But, 
as he knew not how to calculate the depreciation 
of money, he was unable to apply it, fpecifically, to 
his point. 

The paflion, which had fo long contrived ways 
end means , for exporting the neceflaries of life, was at 
length met by a contrary paflion. And, from 

1766, to 1773, encouragements were, continually, 
offered, for the importation of the neceflaries of 
life f. This importation, and that paflion, continu- 
ed to the prefent times. The year 1796 is the 

* In his Thoughts on the Catfes, and Confequences, of the prefent 
high Price of Provifions ; Dodfley, 1767, 8vo. He was, immedi- 
ately, anfwered, by a pamphlet, abufing all the fervants of the 
public, who were the very perfons, that fuffered themoft, from 

the depreciation of money. 

f By the various acts of parliament, in thofe times. The 
obvious change, in the current of the corn trade, may be traced 
back not only to the bad feafons, but, to thofe parliamentary 

acts. 

epocb 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. J2$ 

epoch of the bounty on the importation of victual*", 
This firft effay coft the nation £.565,802 The un- 
favourable feafons, and the continued fright, gave 
rife to greater, and more various bounties, on the 
importation of victual jr. This fecond effay has al- 
ready intercepted, in its courfe to the exchequer, 
no lefs than £.1,251,479. Of victual, there was 
imported, in 1800, as we have feen, 2,259,379, fta- 
tute quarters. Such are the effects of carrying po- 
licy to extremes : in one period, exportation was too 
much rewarded: in another, importation was too 

much forced. The people 

" Feel by turns the bitter change 

et Of fierce* xtremes 3 extremes by change more fierce/' 

In the mean time,, fomething like a corn Jyftem 
was adopted, in 1773, by regulating the export, 
and import, of grain, according to given prices %. 
Yet, was that fyftem faid cc to be founded on radi- 
cal miftakes§.'' During the fubfequent eighteen 
years, the corn laws were involved in a complete 
chaos. The ableft lawyers in England could not 
fay, diftinctly, by what law the exports, and im- 
ports, of grain were to be regulated. In- this (late of 
legal anarchy, one of the greater!: ftatefrnen, whom- 
this country has ever produced,, undertook the ar~ 

* 36 Geo. 3. ch. 2i. 

f 39, 40 Geo. 3. ch. 29. 41 Geo. 3. ch. 10. 
X 13 Geo. 3. ch. 43. 

§ Mr. Young's Pol. Arithmetic, p. 4Q. 

duous 



J^O AN ESTIMATE OF 

duous tafk of drawing order from confufion. AC 
the elaboration of diligence, and all the wifdom of 
experience, were now employed, in forming the 
Corn A cl of 1791*. Yet, alas! what is the wife 
dom of the wife. A continued fuccefiion of unfa- 
vourable feafons has rendered nugatory the judi- 
cious regulations of that fyftematic law. 

During more than half a century, we have been 
ilunned with controverfy about the corn laws, 
which feem to be abrogated, by a higher power 
than parliament. cc The grand, and leading, error s 
£C upon this fubjecl, feems to be," fays the Rev. 
John Howlett, " that we afcribe too much to hu- 
" man contrivance 3 and too little to providential 
ce fuperintendancey." When this able man made this 
deep remark, he had before him many fa els* 
When the late Doclor Smith argued this queftion, 
he could only fee, with fyftematic eyes, the difpa- 
ragement of Jilver. After viewing the whole ope- 
ration of the corn laws, with a very acute intellecl, 
Mr. Howlett * " thought it manifeft, that the va- 
" rious changes in our corn laws are fo far from 
" having been the only, or even any confiderable, 
<c caufe of the decreafe of our exports (of com,) 
sc that there is no necefJity for fuppofing, they have 
" been any caufe at all". With this opinion, I 

* 31 Geo. 3. ch. 30. This act, however, was not, finally, 
paffed, as it had been, originally, propofed. See the notes on 
p. 40, 41, of the Corn Reprefentation, lately printed for Stpckdale. 

f His Difperfion, 1797, p. z\, 

tid. 

con- 



E STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". 33 1 

eoncur^ft er a l° n g confideracion of the corn-ac- 
counts,^ were printed by order of parliament, in 
Novef 1800, and v/eighing collateral circum- 
fiance appears to me, that the feafons, either 
good, bad, have been the efficient caufes of 
plent) fcarcity, from the epoch of the exporta- 
tion By to the prefent times. After fully con- 
fidents interefting fubject, the feries of corn- 
laws *ared to me, like continued attempts to 
reg;u]the feafons. In the weighty confideration 
of fifng the neceffaries of life, there are two 
poinfhich are beyond the power of parliament : 
the ature cannot regulate the courfe of the 
(cafe neither can the legiflature controul the 
fubtpd filent, depreciation of money, which 
feer have the all-powerful force of fieam : the 
e ff e unfavourable feafons may be mitigated, 
by Deft fyftem of agriculture: the unhappy 
; n ft: of the depreciation of money may be 
m( j, by the rigid ceconomy of individuals. 

much, then, with regard to- the bounty f and 
XQvm-laws : I will now fpeak of the recent 
which proceeded from various caufes. 
principal caufe was, undoubtedly, a long 
f e f unfavourable feafons. We have, as I 
hjready fhown, not only a greater number of 
p to feed ; but, a greater number of opulent, 
a^fteful people to feed ; owing to the favour- 
Jiange in the circumftances of a great many 
£ In the mean time, the whole neceffaries 
s were fold upon the principles of concert. 
r From 



33^ AN ESTIMATE OF 

From Cornwall to Cathnefs, there is arlerftand* 
ing among the fellers, who never for that the 
confumers are wholly in their powei\ n d, by 
means of this underftanding, and of concert, 
there is not a free market in Britainiere the 
balance of fupply, and demand, can vp ) with- 
out the interruptions of avarice. Sonf thofe 4 
evils have been attributed to the ban! It has 
been urged, that the paper of the bank 'ngland 
has greatly contributed to raife the pricf corn, 
and cattle. The abftract pofition is obvioibfurd: 
and, the arguments, which have beer^en, in 
fupport of that abfurdity, I have alwajifider- 
ed, as nonfenfical. If it had been a^ that 
the difcounts of the bank promote <ation; 
* that circulation encourages induftry ; thduftry 
energizes agriculture, manufacture, Ccrce^ 
that all thefe create wealth; that wealth nders 
luxury; that luxury creates confjmptionj that 
confumption affects the prices ; I mould- a d- 
minted thefe feveral deductions to be fo i tru- 
ifffis : But, it is not true, in point of fact the 
paper of the bank of England ever comcj di- 
rect contact with prices, though they mr er a 
long courfe of circulation. It feems, -very 
certain, that the country banks furnifh a<r,d a „ 
Hons to farmers : yet, have not farmers Ime 
right to the benelits of accommodations Mer- 
chants, and other trradefinen, have, to 
and advances, and other commercial i :es> 
The talk about paper money, on this oc< j s 

ily 



THTRENGTK OF G. BRITAIN". 333 

only an outc that we are an opulent, and free- 
ipending pco| 

Whether tlate war has had any great influence 
on prices, haeen doubted by fome, and denied 
by others, ^ere is, fcarcely, a paradox, that 
fome philofops have not maintained. Some of 
our political cnomifts have clofely followed their 
tract, in the pdoxical line. One truth is clear: 
it was not tlword war, nor the thing, which 
railed the pric in the domeftic market : but our 
fleets, and our nies, have large mouths, that muft 
be fuppiied : a when the public agents go into 
the market, wi additional demands, the prices 
muft neceflarilyife; fince the price is governed 
by the demanded the fupply. If there mould 
be an addir;onal!rnand, and a lefs fupply, during 
feafons of fcarc, the public agents muft, un- 
doubtedly, raife 1 prices, in a high degree. But, 
fome other effeclof war contributed to enhance 
the prices ftill mc. When the affefled taxes, and 
the income tax, v e collected, the iuppliers of the 
necefiaries of lfcntrived to impofe their propor- 
tion of thofe taxesn the confumers, in the prices of 
the neceflary artes. The public agents have 
withdrawn from thmarkets : yet, the confequences 
of the war affect tfconfumers, during the enjoy- 
ment of peace. 

This intimation ads to a flight confideration of 
the depreciation of mey. The mean appreciation, 
from 1689, the ejch of the export bounty on 

conij 



334 AN ESTIMATE OF 

corn, to 1800, is, in the ratio of 6 to 562, 
nearly*: now, the refult is, that £.1. 1689, had 
as great a power over the necefTa] of life, as 
£.z. gs. %%d. had, in 1800. Frome fame ap- 
preciation, there is another refult. :cording to 
a five years average, ending with m the price 
of middling wheat, per flatute uarter, was 
£.1. 8 s. Hd. s now, this furn had are t a power 
over the necefTaries of life, as £.3 1 15 d. in 1 800 : 
and the average price of five dear ye> ending with 
1799, was only £.3. 3s. §id. : fo thhisbigb price 
of five dear years was not fo large pe low price 
of middling wheat, in the five plefdl years, end- 
ing with 1689. From the foreg<g refults, we 
may infer, that the dear years of ipnt times were 
not equal in dearnefs, and mifery, the dear years 
of a century before, The deprecion of money, 
according to Sir George Shuourgh Evelyn's 
table, from 1696 to 1800, wasn the ratio of 
234,53, to 562, nearly: fo that J. in 1696, was 
equal, in power, to £1. 7 s. 11 in 1800: and, 
of confequence, the average prieef wheat, in the 
very dear year 1696, was equal t(.6. 14s. id. in 
in the very dear year 1 800. Tfdepreciation, ac- 
cording to the fame curious, aniimportant, table, 
from 1710 to 1800, was in theatio of 247 1 to 
562, nearly: fo that £.1. in 110 was equal in 

* See Sir George Shuckburgh EvelA Table of the appre- 
ciation of money i in the Tranfaclions: the Royal Society* 
1798, p. 176. 

energy 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 335 

energy to £1. fj. $d. in 1800: now, the average 
price of the quarter of middling wheat, in 1709, 
was £' 3- 2s - which, in power over neceiTaries, was 
equal to £.J- cs. g{d. in 1800. It is, therefore, 
demonftrable, that the dearnefs, and diftre fs, of 
recent times, were not equal to the dearnefs, and 
diftrefs, of the feveral reigns of king William, and 
queen knne. Under Providence, we owe the fa- 
vourable difference of late times to the better irate 
of our agriculture ; proceeding from that gradual 
progrefs of improvement, which has been traced, 
during the two laft centuries and which has dou- 
bled in its progrefs, during the prefent reign, and 
has redoubled its many meliorations, during the laft 
fix and thirty years. 

This lubjecl of the depreciation of money is fo inte- 
resting to the ftate, to the governed, as well as to 
the governors - 3 that I will prefume to exhibit it, in 
a different light. By a parliamentary arrangement, 
in 1760, the civil lift revenue was compenfated, 
by an annuity of £.800,000$ his Majefty having 
gracioufly offered to relinquifii his hereditary reve- 
nues, in consideration of an equivalent. It is a 
parliamentary principle, which has been long fet- 
tled, that whoever, whether the prince, or the pea- 
fant, relinquifhes any rights, for the benefit of the 
public, fliall receive a full compenfation. On that 
principle, was the faid annuity of £. 800,000 fettled, 
by parliament, on his Majefty, in lieu of his here- 
ditary revenues *. Upon that annuity, the depreci- 
ation 

* 5 Geo. 3. ch. 1. The hlHorian of our revenue does not dif- 

tin&ly 



3j5 AN ESTIMATE OF 

at ion of money attached, as it equally attaches upon 
all other annuities. It was found neceffary, there- 
fore, in 1777, to bring the arrears of the civil lift 
•before the parliament, for its juft consideration. 
The civil lift debt was paid : and, the faid annui- 
ty was enlarged to £. 900,000, without any very 
minute calculation, whether £.900,000, Ln 1777, 
had the fame power over the necefTaries of life, as 
£.800,000 had, in 1760. The depreciation of 
money, from 1760 to 1800, according to the im- 
portant T'rMe, before-mentioned, was in the ratio of 
342 to 562 : fo that £. i, in 1760, could command 
as many of the necefTaries of life, as £. 1. 12s. lod. 
in 1800: andj confequently, an annuity of £.800,000, 
in 1760, was equal, in its faculties, to an annuity of 
/. 1,314,619. 17/. yid. in 1800. Such, then, are 
lb me of the effects of the depreciation of money, 
which, as they are fubtle 5 and filent, cannot be eafily 

tin6llyf!ate that arrangement, which comprehends the royal grace, 
and the parliamentary engagement. The learned Baronet, 
however, recapitulates the various fums, which, from time to 
lima, have been paid, in fupplernentary aid, of the civil lift; 
.and., at length, infers, that the total, during the lpace of twenty- 
eight years, amounts to 923,196, per anmun. Sir J. Sin- 
clair's Hift. of the Public Revenue, vol. 3, p. 72. But, his fa- 
gacity feems not to have perceived, that the depreciation of 
money was outrunning the annuity ; and his algebra did not 
difcover, fay computation,, that £. 923,196, in 1786^ were not 
equal, in power of purchafe, to £. 800,000, in 1760: in fadt, 
according to the Table, and the principles, before mentioned, an 
annuity of £. 900,000 was equal, in its energies, during the 
year 1760, to an annuity of £. 1,478,947. 7 s. ^d. in 1800. 
<Now s the Mathematics cannot be outfaced by confidence, nor 
oiuargued by declamation ! 

forefeet, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN". ^37 

forefeen, and cannot be wholly prevented. I have 
now fpoken of the feveral points of our political 
©economy, which I propofed to difcufs, with the 
freedom of a man, who always thinks for himfelf. 

Such alfo were fome of the effects of the feventh 
great war, in which Britain has been engaged, fince 
the Revolution of 1688. It is one of the principal 
objects of the foregoing eflirnate to irate the loiTes 
of her trade from each of thofe wars. And, we 
have beheld, with wonder, and comfort, that our 
(hipping, and commerce, have, at the return of each 
fuccedive pacification, been invariably more exten- 
five, than during each preceding period of tranquil- 
lity. It has been obferved, alio, that in proportion 
as the people of the Britilh dominions became more 
enlightened, more induftrions, and more opulent, 
they equally became more able to meet the misfor- 
tunes of bufinefs, and to bear the embarraffments 
of war. 

The events, which occurred, during the late war, 
as well as in the period preceding, are proofs of that 
pofuion. It muft, indeed, be allowed, that indivi- 
duals, and clafTes, were prefTed down, by inequali- 
ties, which, however unable they are to bear bur- 
dens, cannot eafilv be forefeen, nor always prevent- 
ed. The firft effects of war, in our happy ifland, 
which never feels the ravages of the foe, are new 
debts, and additional taxes. Every year of hoftili- 
ties brings with it fome frefn loan, with appropri- 
ate fubfidies to fund it. But, it will anfwer, fuffici- 
ently, our prefent purpoie, fince the war is con- 
cluded, to give a general view of the debts of the 
Hate, and the burdens on the people. 

Z ' THE 



33? 



AN ESTIMATE OF 



THE FUNDED DEBT, 
On the 5th of January, 1786, was - 

On the 5th of January, 1793, was - 

On the 1 ft of February, i3oi, (the total of the old debt) was 



Since the ift of February, 1793, (the ww debt created,) was 

Of thefe fums, £. 19,708,750, capital, and £. 9,791, long annuities, 
were on account of Ireland ; £. 56,445,000 were charged on the 
Income Tax : and, on the ift of February, 1801, the Sinking-fund 
CommiiTioners had redeemed of the new debt £.16^182,094: 
Hence - - • - - - - 

Leaving, as the permanent debt of the war - 
On the ift of February, 1801, the whole of the old, and new, debt 
was --------- 



a On the ift of February, 1 793^ the finking fund commiffioners had purchafed 
£. 10,24.2,100, of the principal dc/bt ; and annuities, amounting to ,£.79,880, had 
fallen in ; which two fums thenceforth formed effential parts of the finking fund. 

fe This fum includes £. i,coo,ooo, which was applicable to the redu&ion of the 
debt ; and alfo the dividends on £. 10,242,100 flock redeemed ; and, moreover, the 
amount of the annuities fallen in: — making together £-387,143. 

c On the ift February, i8cr, ftock, amounting to £. 36,099,562 had been 

bought by the nuking fund commiihoners ; and £.123,4.77 annuities having fallen in, 
formed an additional part of the finking fund: and £.16,083,802 flock had been 
transferred to them, for the land tax redeemed. 

d The above annuities are exclufive of £.230,000 annuities, which were created* 

by advances, to the emperor of Germany. 



THE STRENGTH OF C-. BRITAIN. 33$ 







Annui:ies, Long, 
and Shore. 


The Prin- 
cipal. 


Intereft, and 
.Management. 








£.238,231,248 


£.9,297,000 


- 


-" ~ 


1,293,670 


227,989, 148 s 


10,325,000* 






1,250,073 


186,047,884° 




Annuities 


Principal e . 








^. 312,664 


C3°b>997>79 2 








9-79 1 














£. 302,873 f 


£.214,661,948 


£.10 388,297s 






X- i>55 2 >946 


£-400,709,832 


£.20,713,297 



e The above principal is exclufive of £-7, 502,6 3 3, 3 fir cent, ftock, which were 
created, by advances, to the fame emperor : but, it includes the capital borrowed by the 
loan of 1 80 j, with its coincidents. 

r Of this fum, the income tax defrays £. 19,666. 

S This fum includes £. 1,8x2,817, for the interefl, and charges, of the loan of rSor- 
Of the whole fum, £.7,574,289 were, for interefl, and management, of the national 
debt, which was unredeemed, on the ift of February, 1801: — and, £.2,8 r4,co8 ..rife 
from the one per cent, finking fund annexed to e^ery loan, and alfo the intereft of the 
ftock redeemed. A further charge of 497.735 per annum is guaranteed, by 
parliament, in default of payment of the intereft of certain loans, by the laid em- 
peror, 



Z 2 



Such- 



340 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Such, then, was the funded debt of the ftate, as it 
is ftated, veracioufly, on the Common's Journals. 
Since the epoch of our national debts, there have al- 
ways flood againft the ftate certain unfunded debts, 
fimilar to the current accounts of individuals. Such 
claims cannot be fettled, till they be known ; and 
they cannot be known, till the expences have been, 
for fome time, incurred. The efforts of our feve- 
ral wars have been conftantly embarraffed by unli- 
quidated debts : and fuch debts have tended to em- 
bitter the fucceflive return of every peace. To 
wind up the tail of the American war required the 
impofnion of taxes, which amounted to upwards of 
£.938,000 a year, as we have already feen. It is a 
great Hep towards the fatisfaction of unfettled claims, 
either public, or private, when they are afcertained, 
and acknowledged. The fame fpirit, which, in fi- 
nancial affairs, has avowed publicity to be the beft 
policy, has left no doubt, with regard to the 
amount of the unfatisfied claims on the ftate. The 
unfunded debt, on the 5th of January, 1793* exclu- 
sive of the well-known anticipations of the annual 
grants, was — — —-£.8,925,422, 

The fame debt, on the 5th of Janua- 
ry, 1 801, exclufive of £.3,000,000, 
which was advanced by the Bank, 
' without intereft, for the renewal of 
her charter ; and which is to be 
repaid, in 1806; was — — .17,946,186. 



The 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. ,341. 

The great caufe of the frequent accumulation of 
our unfunded debts is the navy, the fate-guard, and 
glory, of the nation. From its magnitude, and its 
contingencies, no lefs of the unfunded debt of t8oi, 
than £. 5,361,489 were incurred, for the neceifary 
reparations of our wooden walls. Other fervices had 
demanded an additional iiiiie of exchequer bills, 
amounting to £.3,740,300. And, thefe two fer- 
vices fwelied the unfunded debt, of 1801, beyond 
that of 1793, to the fum of £.9,020,764. Pru- 
dence has, however, made a recent provifion, for 
much of this floating debt, which depreffed public 
credit, by ks weight, and embarraffed private fpecu- 
lations, by its loofenefs *, 

Of public debts, whether unfunded, or funded, 
the true anodyne is a finking-fund. This remedy 
has exifted in our Difpenfary, fince the year 5717, 
by the annual appropriation of £. 323,434. Yet, 
has not this anodyne always been administered, with 
the attention, and fuccefs, which were due to its ef- 
ficacy. The powers of a finking-fund, however 
recommended by publication, were almoft forgotten, 
when it was adopted, as we have feen, under hap- 
pier aufpices, at the end of feventy years f. A fink- 
ing fund of £.250,000, a quarter, was fettled by 
law, in 1786. The energies of this quarterly fum 
was ftrengthened, in 1792, by a grant of £.400,000, 

* By the 42 G. 3, ch. 8, there were funded £. 6,500,000 of 
exchequer bills. By the 42 G. 3. ch. 9, power was givea 
to raife £.5,000,000, by exchequer bills. 

f See before p. 179 — 183. 

Z 3 and 



34 2 AN ESTIMATE OF 

and to this great addition, was Superadded, in every 
ftbfequent year, £. 200,000. At the end of the 
fixth year, it had, with thefe helps, acquired, for 
the ft ate, of public debts to the amount of 
^.9,441,850. It had thus outrun, in this fhort 
period, the calculations of malignant fcience 
£.2,649,237. The objection to thofe falutary 
meafures, which ft ruck the apprehenfions of men 
the mod, was the intimation, that the flrft diftrefTes 
of war would convert the finking fund into one of 
the ways and means of the year. This apprehenfion 
was removed by a parliamentary declaration, in 
1792, that every new loan, in future, ftiould carry 
its own finking fund along with it*. The finking 
fund had now (hewn its energies ; the people had 
felt its benefits ; and the parliament had augmented 
its powers, and provided for its continuance. 

The heftilities of 1793, as they demanded a new 
loan, alio created, under the late declaration, a new 
finking fund. H the fame manner every loan, dur- 
ing the late war, was accompanied by its own pro- 
vifion, fcr its repayment, The world now faw great 
examples of the privations of che people, and of the 
magnanimity of parliament, in adhering to previous 
engagements, for fupporting public credit. The 
publicity of all thofe meafures added much to their 
fuccefs. The public debts were, from time to 
time, computed, and afcertained. The applications 

* By the aft 32 G. 3. ck 55, which invigorated the 26 G. 
3. ch. 31 ; and which flrengthened the old> by laying the foun- 
dation of a new finking fund, 

8 of 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 343 

of the fmking fund, its pail appropriations, and fu- 
ture powers, were inquired into, by a parliamentary 
committee. Ac the epoch of that inquiry, in 1797, 
it was found that, 

The old finking fund amount- 
ed yearly to - - -'£, 1,941,320. 6 s. id. 
The new finking fund to - 1,41 8,479. ojt. od. 

The amount of both to £.3,359,7 9 9. 6 s. 2d. 

The firfi was then operating 

on the old debt of - - £. 240,000,000. 
The Jecond was operating on 

the new debt of - - 130,665,896. 



It now became apparent, from calculation, that the 
old finking fund, with all its fupplementary aids* had 
lefs power of redemption over the old debt, than the 
new finking fund had over the new debt. And, 
it was equally demonftrable, that the old debt of 
£.240,000,000, might poflibly be redeemed, in 
thirty- three years, from the ill of February, 1797 ; 
and could not be of longer redemption than fifty-four 
years, from the fame epoch*. 

The encouragements, arifmg from thofe intima* 
tions, feem only to have created defires of giving 
more energies to powers, which were already pow- 
erful. The income tax was granted, in 1798, as a 

* The Report of the Finance Committee, printed the 31ft of 
March, 1797. 

Z 4 contribution 



344 AN ESTIMATE OF 

contribution for carrying on a necejfary'war* : a fimi- 
lar income tax was granted, in 1799, but on differ- 
ent principles, and with diHimilar views j\ At the 
fame time, and with analogous purpofes, the land 
tax was fold - 3 and the purchafe money was transferred 
to the redemption of debts. In this manner was 
created, a third finking fund, which, in its energies, 
was ftill more powerful, than either of the former. 
By the redemption of the land tax, £. 16,083,802 of 
flock were transferred to the ccmmiffioners' of the 
finking fund, who thus acquired the dividends, as 
the efficacious means of buying additional debts. 
By an obvious departure from its original defign, 
the income tax was dedicated to the payment of 
£.56,445,000 from the conclufion of the war, in 
1 Sot, to the end of the year 1811 : this then, is a 
finking fund of £.5,644,500. a year, for ten 
years J. 

By thofe various operations, fince 1786, for the 
fpeedy diminution of the national debts, the effects 
have been as great, as wife men forefaw, from the 
energies of fuch powerful machinery. Before rhe 
ill of February, 1801, there had been redeemed of 
the old debt £.52,183,364, and of the annuities 
£.123,477; whereby the principal of the old 
debt had been reduced from £.238,231,248 to 
£.186,047,884, and the annuities to £. 1,250,073, 

* By 38 G. 3. eh. 16. 

t 39 G 3- ch - J 3- 
J Com. Journ. 22 June, 1801. 

4 . . 



And, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 345 

And, before the ift of Februarys 1801, the finking 
fund commiffioners had redeemed, of the nezv debt, 
f. 16,182,094, the dividends whereof, continually, 
form new means of redemption. The finking fund, 
in 1786, was about 1-23 8th part of the capital per- 
manent debt ; the finking fund, in 1793, was about 
i-i6cth part of the fame debt; and eftimating the 
finking fund, in 1801, at £. 5,500,000, this amount 
would be about 1-7 3d part of the permanent debt, 
in 1 8c 1*. There will, moreover, fall in to the 
lame fund, by the gradual effluxion of time, before 
the 5th of January, 1808, annuities for years, ex- 
clufive of annuities for lives, amounting to 
£.490,240. 4 j. yd-f. As an account, between 
the exchequer, and the ftock exchange, this is a 
very fplendid ftatement, which does high honour to 
the wifdom of the parliament, and to the patience 
of the people. 

* Com. JonriL 22 Jane, i8ct. 

f Finance Report, 1786, App. N° 5. The following is a ftate* 
mer.: of the annuities, and cf the times, when they will fuc- 
cefiively fall in to the finking fund : 



Annuities for Long Terms. 


Principal. 


A muity and 
Management. 


Time when 
thev will 
Tallin. 






£. s. d. 




£. 3,70c p*r week excifc 


456, ,-30 


31,830 6 8 


5th April 


1706 - - - 


360.445 :S 9 


24,724 11 6 


D° 1805 


1707 - 


124,414 


S,If2 2 2 


D° 1S06 


in Aa 1708 - 


75,368 


4,918. sa 7 


D u i8c 7 


2nd Aft 1708 


162,896 


50,597 5 3 


5th July 1807 


.Annuities for 30 and 29 year? 




410,017 6 7 


5th Jan. i8cS 






490,140 4 9 





Every 



/ 

34-6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Every intimation evinces, indeed, that the re- 
fources of a nation, which poiTelfes all the means of 
acquiring opulence; agriculture, manufactures, com- 
merce, mipping ; are almoft inexhauftible. The 
vail wealth of Britain has been induftrioufly obtain- 
ed amidft wars, taxes, and debts. One of the great 
objects of this efcimate has been to trace the pro- 
grefs of all thefe, and to (hew the linking refult. 
Yet, frefh events, exhibit new views of thofe inte- 
reiling fubjects. And, the fubjoined ftatements of 
the permanent taxes, which had been impofed, be- 
fore the war began, furnifhed additional proofs, 
that the refources of a knowing, opulent, and enter- 
prizing people, are beyond calculation. The. fol- 
lowing details will convey the informations of expe- 
rience : 

1784"? The net produce of the per- 
5 Jan. J manent taxes was - £.10,194,259 

Added, for funding the float- 
ing debts of the American 
war - 938,000 



£.11,132,259 

Added from the confolidation 
act, and from duties im- 
pofed, in 1789 - - 137,000 



*79v3> January 5, ail thofe taxes pro- 
duced net £. 14,284,000 

1794 D° ; - D° - I3,94T,COO 





THE STREwtj*H 


ATI /-> 


BRITAIN. t*7 


1795 




D° 


- 13^58,000 


*79 6 


D° 


D° 


L i3>557>°°° 


1797 


D° 


D* 


143292,000 


179S 


D° 


D° 




*799 


D° - 


D° 


- T4,275,000 


1800 


D° 


D* 


- 1 5,743^ °9 


1801 


D° 


D° 


i4>*94>539 



This laft fum of net produce, deducting the du- 
ties, arifing from the confolidation act, and the tax- 
es impofed, in 1789, exceeded the net produce of 
the permanent taxes, on the 5th of January, 1784, 
together with thofe impofed, in 17S4, and 1 7 8 c> by 
the vail: fum of £.2,925,539. And, this laft fum, 
being the net produce of the old permanent taxes, 
on the 5th of January, 1801, fell below the net 
produce of the preceding year about £. 1,150,000, 
owing, chiefly, to the bad effects of an unprofperous 
feafon. 

In the mean time, there had been impofed the 
various taxes, which were neceflary, for the loans, 
and expences of the late war; and which feern not 
to have leffened the produce of the previous reve- 
nue, as had happened, during the diftrefsfui times of 
king William. 

1801, 5 Jan. The net produce of the taxes, which 
were impofed, fince 5th Jan. 1793, 
was - - £. 8,079,076. 

I'ooi, 5 Jan. The whole permanent- 

ed taxes amounted to 22,273,6 i 5. 



In 



34$ AN ESTIMATE OF 

In 1797, the grofs receipt of taxes, deduct- 
ing repayments, difcounts, drawbacks, loans, and 
monies paid by government, was ,£.23,076,179. 

In 1798 D° - - D° 30,176,303. 

1799 D° - - D° 34,750,976. 

1800 D 3 - - D 3 33>$3S>° l6 * 



This laft produce, being an increafe, compared 
with that of 1797, of £.10,458,^37; compared 
with that of 1798 of £.33358,713 ; and a diminu- 
tion of £. 1,215,960, when compared with the pro- 
duce of 1799. All thofe facts, having a proper re- 
gard to the unproductive feafons, indicate the vi- 
gorous faculties of this wealth-producing nation. 

The future income, and outgoing, of the ftate, may 
be eftimated, in the following manner : 

The old permanent taxes at - - £.15,740,000 
The new permanent taxes at - - 8,205,000 
Further produce of the taxes of the 

years 1799, ^00, and i8ci, at 2,350,000 
The land, and malt, taxes at - 2,558,000 

The total at £. 28,853,000 



This total is obvioufly exclufive of the profit of a 
lottery, and of any participation of the territorial 
revenues of the Eaft India Company. 

The outgoings mud confift of the vaft charges of 

the 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 1 34^ 

the national debts ; including, however, what has 
been bought, for the flate, by the finking fund 
commifiioners : and, fecondly, the peace eftablifh- 
ment muft be provided for, to whatever amount 
the wifdom of the nation may think proper, all cir- 
cumftances of an extraordinary conjuncture duly 
confidered. 

Such were the financial operations, which this 
nation alone could perform, during a war, that has 
been beyond example expenfive, from its unexam- 
pled efforts; and this expence was heightened, by un- 
favourable feafons, and the higheft charge was made 
ftill more diftrefsful, by a worfe exafperation, the de- 
preciation of money. Every financial contract has, 
however, been honeftly executed. The malignant 
prophecies, which foretold, that the finking fund 
would be converted into a war fubfidy, the moment 
that hoftilities mould prefs upon the people, have 
happily remained unfulfilled. Inftead of diverting 
that fund, from its falutary end, a fecond finking 
fund has been made of more energy, than the firfc, 
and a third finking fund has been fuperadded of 
more power of redemption, than both. A fyflern 
of finance was, at length, adopted, in confequence 
of thofe various operations, which promifed to pre- 
clude the increafe of the national debt ; as the per- 
manent charges to be yearly incurred were never to 
exceed the annual amount of the finking fund*. 
In this manner, then, was every project of the ene- 



* Brief Examinarion, p. 74, 



J JO AN ESTIMATE OF 

my, for ruining our public credit, wholly difap- 
pointed. As new demands to a vaft amount had 
thus been created, by means of thofe finking funds, 
for the national debts, the public fecurities became, 
both in theory, and in fact, much more valuable, in 
the hands of the national creditors. It may now 
gratify a rational curiofity to fee, by an enumeration 
of particulars, a comparative ftate of the prices of 
the public flocks, in the two firft years of the lalt 
peace, and the two loft years of the late war. 

A Statement cf the prices of the 3 per cent, confols, in each 
month, of the four following years, comparing two years of 
peace, with two years ofwar ; 



January 

February 

March 

x^pril 

May 

June 

July 

Auguft 

September 

October 

November 

December 



During all thofe operations of finance, and of war, 
the gains of our enterprizing people were beyond 
calculation, however the unproductive claries may 
have fuffered, from the depreciation of money, and 
the inequality of taxation. Our commerce be- 
came 



Peace. 



.784 1 7 8 5 



55! 


55| 




55f 


58* 


551 
SH 


58! 


sH 


$*i 




57? 




571 


tH 


57? 
SH 


55f 


54? 
55f 


63 


6S 


5 Si 


74 



1800 1801 



62 

63 

63? 

6 4f 

64i 

6 3 f 

6 3 

6 5 l 

6 4 f 

6+? 

6zl 



S9i 
56* 

sH 

59 
60* 

6o| 

59? 

59f 

67i 
6/f 
67i 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 35 1 

came more than double to its greateft extent, 
during the happieft years of peace*. We added 
mean time many mips to our ancient ftock f. 
And, above all thofe caufes of comfort, we improv- 
ed the furface of our ifland, during the prefTures of 
war, and the infelicities of feafons, beyond the 
greateft enterprizes of the mod profperous times J. 

At length, peace came unlooked for, on a day, 
which will always be deemed propitious to Britain. 
The new century dawned on the Britifh ifles, with 
a very inaufpicious afpect. While they were en- 
gaged, in an arduous conteft, with a people, who 
had either overpowered, or overawed, the continen- 
tal ftates, the nations of the north entered into a 
league, that had, for its end, the ruin of the naval 
ftrength of Great Britain. The pilots, who hacf 
conducted our vefFel through many a ftorm, relin- 
quished the helm, while the clouds looked black, in 
our horizon. At this portentous moment, God 
thought fit to afflict his majefty with ficknefs. The 
king's recovery, as it was granted to the prayers 
of his people, was alfo marked, by the appointment 
of new fteerfmen, while our atmofphere was (till 

* See before the Chronological Table. 

f There were, in 1793, of regiftered (Tripping belonging to 
Great Britain, 1,367,420 tons, and, in 1800, 1,628,439 tons. 

J In the eight years of wat, ending with 1800, the parlia- 
ment, as we have feen, paifed adts, for local improvements, to 
the number of — — — - — 1,124 

In the eight years of preceding peace — — . 750 



over 



j5'2 an estimate of 

overclouded, by many vapours of ill omened dark- 
nefs. Such a crifis, as it was unexampled, required 
many trials of temper, great efforts of perfeverance, 
and greater exertions of fortitude. 

Thefe national virtues, as they were praclifed to 
their full extent, were rewarded with proportional 
fuccefs. The valour, and the fkill, of our feamen, 
foon convinced the Danes, that their defences, 
however conftructed by fcience, and defended by 
bravery, were unable to protect their capital. In 
the moment of victory, our humanity taught them, 
that they might truR to our moderation, after their 
own refources had failed. The confidence of their 
Rivals in peace, and Affociates in hoftility, was 
abated, as much by our conciliation, as by our fuc~ 
cefs. The demife of the fovereign of Ruffia intro- 
duced reafon, into her councils, and fenfe, into her 
politics. And, the troubles of the Baltic were 
calmed by a convention, which will be long re- 
membered, in our naval jurifprudence, as it fecured 
our naval power upon fyftematic principles, that 
were now acknowledged : by yielding fome thing to 
mifconception - s by explaining doubts ; by removing 
difficulties : we preferved the effence of our naval 
practice, without departing from our national dig- 
nity*. In the conduct of nations, ftatefmen, if 
they be wife, will allow themfelves to be governed 
by the circumftances, wherein they are placed, whe- 
ther adverfe, or fortunate. 

* See a Vindication of the Ruffian Convention, in Six Letter: , 
which were lately printed for Wright, in Piccadilly. 

Meantime., 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 3|3 

Meantime, our foldiers haftened to Egypt, where 
they emulated the difciplined intrepidity of our 
failors. Victory attended their efforts. And, their 
perfeverance, their conduct, and their valour, com- 
pelled a brave, an artful, and atn obftinate enemy to 
capitulate, after every effort to relieve a favourite 
army had failed. At the fame time that France 
was thus unfuccefsfu], in fending fuccours to a fet- 
tlement, which fhe ardently wi fried to fave, me was 
equally unable to protect her own coafts from bom- 
bardment, while fhe threatened ours. We may 
eafiiy fuppofe, that the pacification of the North the 
misfortunes of the South ; the fpirit of our people ; 
and the addrefs of our ftatefmen $ induced the 
foe, after a long ftruggle between his fubtllty$ and 
neceffities, to think ferioufly of pacification. 

An unlooked for peace, as it had been fettled in 
filence, was hailed by general acclamations. But, 
the affairs of life do not admit of unanimity. 
There will ever be conceit and felf-fufficiency 3 in- 
tereft and difappointment ; envy and malignity ; 
to difapprove of every mode of treaty, and to con-^ 
teft every fpecification of terms, which the wifdom 
of man can devife. He, however, who comes out 
to oppofe the return of peace, with all her train 
of bleffings, ought to be provided with frrong rea- 
fons, for his oppofmon, if he have any character to 
fupport, or any name to rifk. 

The ftatefman, who enters into the vefribule of the 
temple of concord* needs not vouch neceffity, for juf- 

A a tifying 



354 AN ESTIMATE OF 

tifying a dep, that is to bring peace to the people^ 
while he pufhes far from their bufinefe, and bofoms, 
war, with his poignard, and his poifon, Peace is a 
deity to be courted : war is a demon to be driven 
away. Peace, when loft, is a benefit, which ought 
to be regained, by every fcratagem of addrefs, and 
every effort of conciliation : war, when prefling 
upon us, is a burden to be thrown oft, on the 
firft occafion, upon whatever motive. In every 
fair difcuffion upon the topicks of peace, and war, 
the debate mult turn upon the terms, rather than 
the principle ; fince peace, in itfelf, is a good ; while 
war, in itfelf, is an evil : and, the ftatefmen, who 
produces pacification, in the place of hoftilities 3 
merits cc general applaufe, and cheerful fhout $" but 
not the fnarl of difappointment, the growl of ma- 
lignity, or the conteftation of felf-fufficiency. To 
all thofe, then, w ho prefer the miferies of war to 
the comforts of peace, may be applied w hat Bur- 
leigh intimated, with prophetic filence, to ElTex, in 
the prefence of Elizabeth, and in the words of the 
Pfalmift : " blood thirfty men lhall not outlive half 
" their days." 

I do not, therefore, concur with thofe, who de- 
fend peace, by the plea of neceffity ; becaufe what 
is defirable ought always to be welcome : and 
what is defirable, and welcome, is an object of ap- 
plaufe, rather than a charge for defence. I do not 
agree, then, that our late peace was either called for 
by neceffity, or ought to be vindicated by notions of 

neceffity : 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. § 

Meceffjy: nor, do I admit, that our late peace needs any 
vindication } as it is fit in itfelf. Nay : admitting the 
general principle to be indifputable, may hot peace 
be ill-timed, ill-negociated, unadvifed, and urifafe ? 

Yes : but, was the late peace ill-timed? We had 
calmed the troubles of the north, by meafures of 
fuch energy, and addrefs, as did honour to the va- 
lour of our arms, and to the temper of our negoci- 
ation : we there difplayed our magnanimity, while 
we fecured our rights. Our arms had equally tri- 
umphed, in the fouch, on thofe arid fands, where 
the enemy erewhile had gathered laurels, which 
were now blafted by our equal conduct, and fupe- 
rior valour. France, virtually, avowed to all Eu- 
rope her inferiority, when fhe could not fuccour the 
diftrefs of her fettlement, nor avert the difgrace of 
her arms. And, it was in the hour of victory, not 
in the moment of defeat, that we offered negocia- 
tion, and agreed to peace. But, if you were fuc- 
cefsful, in the Baltic, and victorious, in Egypt, why 
make peace, why negociate ? To fuch light ques- 
tions, in fo weighty a caufe, cc this manifeft, and 
<c unanfwerable, argument" muft be given ; peace 
is ever defirable : war is always offensive. The 
late peace, then, was not ill-timed: but, it may have 
been ill-nego dated. 

If fecrecy and fuccefs, be proofs, however, of bad 
negotiation, the late peace muft be allowed to be 
an iil-negociated treaty. One ftatefman defeats his 
own ends, by his own ftatelinefs : another ftatefman 
gains his purpofe, by his condefcenfion ; that ftatef- 

A a 2 trmn 



35^ AN ESTIMATE OF 

man choofes to look at his meafures through the 
fpectacies of another : this thinks fit, to fee with 
his own eyes ; judging with Lavater, that the look, 
and manner, may fometimes difclofe the working 
of the head, and often betray the concealments of 
the heart. Elizabeth, wifhing to fearch the foul of 
Henry IV. about the peace of Vervins, fent her 
fecretary, Sir Robert Cecil, to France : fhe fent 
Walfingham to James VI. of Scotland, with a fi- 
miiar defign*. It is no great difparagement to any 
of our ftatefmen to mention thofe acccmplifhed fe- 
cretaries of an able queen. Whether our prefent 
fecretary ever moved from Bowning-fquare to gain 
his defirable end, I am yet to learn. If the ob- 
ject, then, juftify the means ; and the means pro- 
duce fuccefs j the treaty cannot be faid to have pro- 
duced an ill-negociated peace. 
• But, it is ftill fuppofed to have been unadvifed. 
Yet, was the time well chofen ; the means were fuc- 
cefsful ; and the refult was happy. This objection, 
then, is only one of the abufes of fophiftry, which, 
with its ufual artifice, converts prudence into im- 
prudence, and transforms, with its magic wand, dif- 
ere don into indifcretion. 

Yet, allowing what has been proved, that the 
peace was not unadvifed, the treaty is fuppofed to 
be unfafe. A full difcuiTion of this topic would lead 

* Birch's Mem. of Elizabeth, vol. ii. p. 373 : when 
Henry IV. being hard prefied in the argument, betrayed fome 
impatience s Cecil faid, to him, <f He was no ordinary ambafla- 
cs dor, refpecllng his place." 

into 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN. 2 S7 

into a wide confederation of the paft, the prefent, and 
the future. During every war, Great Britain is the 
enemy, from whom France has the moft to fear; 
whether fhe confider the intelligence of her coun- 
fels, the bravery of her people, or the extent of 
her refonrces. During the late war, Great Britain 
was the only power, on whom France was unable to 
make any impreffion. Great Britain was the power, 
who gave France the fevered blows, and inflicted 
on her the deepeft wounds. Her fleets were there- 
by crippled ; her coafts were blocked up; her trade 
was annihilated; her manufactures were ruined: 
and, during the laft months of hcftility, Great Bri- 
tain triumphed over France, by land, as well as by 
fea. Peace with other powers was of little avail to 
France, while war with Great Britain remained: 
and peace with Great Britain, was, therefore, re- 
ceived by France, with the utmoft fervour of wel- 
come ; becaufe it brought with it the moft tran- 
quillity, and the moft comfort ; it produced the 
lead fear of danger, either foreign, or domeftic, 
and the moft hope of profit, from internal induftry, 
and external trade. If France, then, know her 
own intereft, or feel her own happinefs ; if France, 
like other nations, reafon from experience 5 fhe will 
not foon meditate another attack on iier moil intel- 
ligent, moft powerful, and moft perfevering, oppo- 
nent. As to confederations of the prejeni ; Grsdt 
Britain enjoyed from the aufpicious day of the fig- 
nature of the preliminaries of pacification, moft of 
the benefits of peace, with the ufual energies of war* 

A a 3 As 



35S AN ESTIMATE OF 

As to the future, this muft depend partly on our 
cppofite, and partly on ourfelves : if me recollect 
the experience of the paft ; if (he value the profits 
of the prefent ; if me regard the bleffings of the fu- 
ture j France will not foon provoke the mofl pow- 
erful enmity of Britain. On our fide; our ftatef- 
men will probably govern themfelves, like their fa- 
thers, by the circumftances, wherein they may find 
themfelves ; by the operations of time, and chance, 
which happen to ail men : but, one truth is certain, 
" Come what come may, 

e( Time and the hour runs through the rougheft day." 

From the era of the Revolution to the epoch of the 
preliminaries, our conftitution has fupported itfelf 
by its own energy againft treafon, privy confpiracy, 
and rebellion. Jacobinifm always has been ; and 
ever will be : but, fuch is the vigour of our confti- 
tution, that it can only be endangered by the fel£ 
fufficiency of thofe, who are entrufted, with its fafe- 
ty. ; and who feldom fufpecl their own conceits, 
till warned, or by experience taught,'* Thofe 
arms, which lately fupported our rights, and fpread 
our glories, will, no doubt, be laid up with circum- 
fpection, repaired with care, and renovated, with a 
proper attention to the pad, to the prefent, and to 
the future. 

Thus much, then, with regard to the general 
queftion, whether peace ought to be received with 
cheerful Jbout. We may now add a word, or two, 
on the mode of the treaty and its terms. It was laid 
down by France, we will fuppofe : for a preliminary 

principle 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BKITAIN* 359 

principle, that, according to her conltitution, what- 
ever formed an integral part of the dominions of the 
republic could not be relinquiihed by negociauon. 
At the opening of the treaty, it thus became necef- 
fary for Britain to anfwer an important queftion, in 
moral arithmetic : it was now to be calculated, 
whether what Ihe had conquered from France, was 
worth the expence of a campaign, without eflimat- 
ing the lofs of lives, or the ficklenefs of fortune. 
If we aflume the charge of 1801, as a proper ave- 
rage, we may fairly eftimate the expences of the 
campaign of 1802, at forty millions. Now, would 
the fee fimple of the conquered countries have fold 
for forty millions ? No. Did they produce any 
fubfidy, for carrying on the war ? No. Would 
they, in peace, had they been retained, yielded any 
revenue, for eafing the burdensof the people ? No. 
We may allow thefe anfwers, from the experience 
of the part. The foil of the Ceded Iflands, by the 
peace of 1763, fold for twopence halfpenny farthing. 
And, they yearly yielded no revenue, which could 
form a way, or mean, for eafing the annual expence 
of the Britifh people : they employed, however, a 
few fhips ; they furnifhed fome faclorages ; and 
they confumed fome manufactures. From this ex- 
perience, we may infer, that the conquered coun- 
tries, had they been retained, would not have paid 
one farthing of the intereft of forty millions. It 
had been an abfurdity, then, in moral arithmetic, to 
have retained thofe countries, if France had not re- 
quired them. And, Great Britain, upon accurate 

A a 4 calculation 



j6o • AN" ESTIMATE OF 

calculation, and a juft view of the fubject, wifely re- 
folded to reftore what was not a benefit, but a bur- 
den 

The factories > which we have reftored to France, 
in India, are merely permiffive poffejfions : for, the 
declaration of future war, and the recapture of 
thofe poffeflions, will be performed, at the fame pe- 
riod. The fimcry of Newfoundland, which is now 
returned, is in a fimilar predicament : the termina- 
tion of the period of peace, and of the fifhery, muft 
be the fame. Whether fuch confiderations will have 
any weight with France, in her future reafonings, 
with regard to the renewment of war, I pretend not 
to know. If fad experience have any weight, ei- 
ther with the governors, or the governed, we may 
reafonably hope, that our future hcftilities will 
never carry conquer!; into the Weft India iOands of 
France. They coil much to gain, and much to 
keep 5 and they only ccnftitute objects of vulgar 
mortification, and factious debate, when they are 
afked, in negociation, and are relinquished, by- 
treaty. -> 

Upon fuch motives, it probably was, that France 
demanded, and Britain felinquifhed the conquered 
countries , which had been taken by the one power, 
from the other. 

Considering the war, with fome ftatefmen, as 
partly a mercantile project, it may be proper to cal- 
culate what we have gained, by the restitution of 
our conquefts, and v/hat we mould have loft, by re- 
taining them. The quantity of Britifh lhipping. 

including 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 36? 

including- the repeated voyages, and the inward, and 
outward entries, which was yearly employed in 
the ..rade of France, Flanders, Holland, Spain, and 
her weftern ifle:, amounted, according to a three 
years average, ending with 1800, ships. Tons, 
to - - 5,744-581,440. 

D° in the trade cf the conquered 
Welt India ifla.-.ds, according 
to a dim yenrs average, end- 
ing ith tfco - - 432- 99 3 3 2 9- 

The yearly balance of (hipping, 

on the fide of peace - 5,312-482,111. 



Again : the value of Britifh manufactures ex- 
ported to France, Flanders, Holland, Spain, and the 
Canaries, according to a fix years average, ending 
with 1792, was - - 2,455,631. 

D* to the conquered Weft India iflejs, 

exclufive of Trinidad, according to 

a fix years average, ending with 

1800 - - - 855,376. 

The yearly balance, on the fide 

of reditu cion - - £'13600,255. 

Viewing the war, then, as a mercantile project; 
and fuppofing what would not be far from the 
truth 5 that our trade with France, Flanders, Hol- 
land, Spain, and her Canaries, will return, with the 
refloration of peace, to nearly its former level ; we 

may, 



36 '2 AN ESTIMATE OF 

may, from thofe details y perceive how much we 
fhall gain, by relinquishing thofe conquered coun- 
tries, for peace. 

On fuch a concefiion, it was natural for France, 
rififig a little in her tone, to propofe, cc that the 
* c ocean mould be free, in war." The object of 
this propofai was as obvious, as the anfwer was eafy. 
The law of nations does not recognize xht freedom 
of the ocean. Our naval policy, and true inter eft, 
forbid a concefiion, which would be fatal to both ; 
and 3 if fuch a propofai be repeated, the negotiation 
muft end. In thefe views of the fubject, it is appa- 
rent, that the negociation was conducted upon 
equal principles of perfect independence : France 
reafonably aiked the reftitution of thofe factories) 
and fijhery, and iflands, which our fuperiority had 
wrefted from 'her. And, Britain conceded what 
her true intereft dictated, after a fair computation, 
by moral arithmetic. France unreafonably afked 
the freedom of the ocean : and the naval interefts of 
Britain dictated a flat refufal : yet, the negociation 
went on, conceding the fit, and refuting the un- 
reafonable, to a happy end. It is equally obvious, 
that if Britain had been a weaker power, either in 
intellect, or in force, a thoufand pretenfions had 
been infifted on, which may be found in recent 
treaties with other ftates ; and which prudence 
muft have yielded, or addrefs eluded. But, in this 
preliminary agreement, there appears nothing, 
which, by concefiion, or refufal, can deduct one 
iota from the dignity of either of the contracting 

powers* 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN, 36$ 

powers, however their feveral interefts may be un- 
derftood, from the various lights, wherein they ap- 
pear. 

Moral arithmetic, equally, dictated the reftitution 
of our conquefts from Spain, and Holland, when 
they were ftrenuoufiy afked : fimilar calculations 
clearly demonftrated, that they were expenfive, in 
war ; that they had been unprofitable, in peace : 
and, we have feen how little was to be gained, by 
an induftrious people, on a commercial calculation of 
their profit, and lofs, had we retained the Dutch, 
and Spanilh, dominions. When the minds offtatef- 
men are inflamed with ambition, and heated with 
conqucft, they cannot admit petty calculations of 
profit, and lofs, whatever may be the truth of their 
feveral refuks. I will cool the minds of fuch 
ftatefmen, by fetting them a quefeion to anfwer 
from moral arithmetic. Would the whole of our 
conquefts, had they been ten times more, been an 
adequate compenfation to the people, for the taxes 
impofed on them, by the neceffities of war, amount- 
ing, yearly, to £. 10,555,000, and the income tax 
of 5,800,000, in addition ? No. Among cool 
men, the proper anfwer muft be, Peace is the pro- 
per compenfation s having manfully defended the 
land we live in, and fuccefsfully maintained our reli- 
gion, and laws. 

With all thofe relinquishments, we have alfo re- 
linquifhed the Cape of Good Hope, on which fome 
flatefmen have let a wonderful value. During the 
pollefiion of the Dutch, the Cape was a fort of free 

forty 



364 AN ESTIMATE OF 

-port, where mips might find the conveniencies of 
wood and water ; and fhipmen might buy, and fell ; 
paying the prices, and duties, of the place. After 
our conquer! of it, the king, by an order of coun- 
cil, in December, 1796, put the trade of the place, 
on nearly a fimilar footing, as to people in amity : 
they might all wood and water, buy and fell, pay- 
ing the local duties ; the Britim trader having fome 
petty advantage. The fovereignty of the Cape is 
now relinquifhed ; but the free port is retained: 
and we have, therefore, prudently, kept the benefit ; 
while we have wifely thrown off the burden. Yet, 
fome of our flatefmen, and orators, have been dif- 
pofed to fet a vaft value on the Cape. If we had 
eitablifhed, indeed, at this extremity of Africa, a na- 
val arfenal, with a numerous fleet, and a powerful 
army, the Cape might both, in war, and peace, 
have over-awed Southern America ; have fuppreffed 
the infurrecTions of the United Irilhmen at Botany 
bay j and might have qualhed the eternal trou- 
bles of the Indian Pemnfula. But, at whofe coft ? 
Not of the fcatefmen, and orators, but at the ex- 
pence of the people. Now, by this peaceful ar- 
rangement, the people are to enjoy all the pleafure, 
and profit, of the Cape, without paying one farthing 
of the expence. 

We have, however, retained Trinidad, and Cey- 
lon. Nature has placed them, happily on the 
globe : the one, on the advantageous coaft of Ame- 
rica ; the other, near the commanding extremity of 
India : they both have commodious harbours, for 

the 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 36$ 

the king's navy, and the merchant's {hipping : the 
one has foil ; the other has fpiceries : and, they both 
have great capabilities, which, according to the 
ufes, that we make of them, by our attentions, and 
expence, will give them importance, and conftitute 
their value. But, it is to peace, that we mud look,, 
for the compenfation of our late expences, and for 
the comfort of our future hopes. 

Our moderation has concurred with our policy, ia 
reftoring Malta to its true owners. By placing it* 
prudently, in their hands, under a moft powerful 
guarantees we have counteracted the flate, who 
was ambitious to pofiefs it, by whatever title. In 
pur hands, Malta had been an enormous expence, 
without any perceivable profit. Having Gibral- 
tar, we did not want its pofition, or its port: its 
commerce would have partaken of the unimport- 
ance of the Levant trade, whether we regard our 
fhipping, or our merchandize; a trade, which even 
with the grateful attentions of the Porte, can never 
be confiderable, while it muft be carried on, in 
war, athwart a long line of hoftile coalr, throughout 
the Mediterranean fea. 

By wrefling Egypt from the eager gripe of the 
enemy by reftoring that commodious country to 
its grateful fovereign ; by ftipulating for the entire 
prefervation of the territorial rights of the Sublime 
Porte \ by eftablifhing the Republic of the Seven iflands, 
we difplayed to Europe the fupericrity of our arms, 
and the magnanimity of our conduct. We may, 
in thofe confiderations, fee how many ambitious 

projects 



3C6 AN ESTIMATE OF 

projects were difappointed : and, it is in thofe con = 
fiderations, that we mull: look for fome of our 
equivalents. The fidelity of the Porte, the difad van- 
tage of our opponent, and our own intereit, dictated 
thofe points of judicious management, which pru- 
dence muft approve, and wifdom confirm. 

The weaknefs of Naples, of Rome, and of Lif- 
bon, demanded an attention, which induced our 
policy to ftipulate, for the evacuation of their ter- 
ritories, and for the entirety of the porTeffions of Por- 
tugal. All Europe felt the weight of our interpo- 
sition. We obtained much for doubtful friends, 
from the concefiion of an uncomplying foe. We 
muft find our equivalent, in the confideration, that 
ibmething has been taken from the fcale of an op- 
ponent, and thrown into the balance of friends ; that 
our fidelity is admired, while our power is re- 
fpecled. 

Such are the outlines of our Preliminary Peace* 
which was conceived by wifdom, dictated by po- 
licy, and concluded by addrefs. Thefe principles 
will continue to produce their falutary effects, after 
the tumult of appiaufe, and the fnarl of conteftation 
have ccafed. 

On this contentious fubject, I have feen in the 
Porcupine New/paper, fome Letters, which were 
addreiTed to Lord Hawkefbury, by an ingenious 
fophifter, who fcribbles, triumphantly, by Juppofing 
what he ought to prove, and by proving what can- 
not be denied. He logically Juppojes, that the Se- 
cretary of State had been invefted with the power of 

DICTATION I 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 367 

dictations while he was only authorifed to nego- 
tiate. Any man; the late Writer in the Porcu- 
pine, could make a very pregnant treaty, if there 
were placed in his hand the pen of prefcnpion. By 
Dr. Wilfon, who taught The Arte of Logike, it is 
aptly remarked : — 

cc £0x11 may tee fati, tfiat feagfiifferg are 
" ixfee tfjofe, tofttcfi plae toitg faUe &ue, an$ 
" fojoulti make etgers Meefce, tljat tgep are true." 

France has acquired Flanders. She influences 
Holland. She has run out her limits to the Rhine. 
She dictates to Switzerland. She has annexed 
Savoy. She domineers over Italy. Now, it did 
not require the proofs of our fophifter, to evince 
what cannot be denied. 

His pofitions are all truisms, which, like other 
truijmsy do not apply to the queftion. Could war's 
alarms have altered the actual fiate of thofe feveral 
pofitions ? No. Could any mode of negociation 
wheedle thofe pofitions from the greedy gripe of a 
perfevering foe? No. Thofe pofitions, then, 
were not to be obtained, either by force, or artifice. 
And to deplore what cannot, by any poilibility, be 
obtained, what is it, but childifh tattle, womanifh 
outcry, or fophiftical declamation. 

Yet, Lord Hawkefbury was outwitted, fays the 
Tyrt^us of the newfpapers. Now, the term is 
not to be found in any book of arithmetic. Any 
boy can work the rule of three, without being out- 
witted. Bur, neither our Sophifter, nor our Tyrteus, 
feems to understand moral arithmetic : and, they 

would 



368 ' AN ESTIMATE 0? 

would, therefore, be unfit negotiators' of anjr 
treaty 3 and are unqualified judges of our Prelimi- 
nary Peace, now that it is made, by adequate cal- 
culators. 

I have read, alfo, an oration, which feems to 
have been conceived with fimiiar fophiftry; and 
delivered with an analogous fbiriu 

The following ajjumptions are the Orator's po- 
rtions : — cc That France has now the power of 
€C deftroying us> though perhaps not the inclination ; 
cc that we are under the paw of the lion, but that 
" he may happen not to be hungry ; — that we capi- 
<c tulate, while we have yet fome ammunition left; 
<c —that we are to all intents and purpofes, con- 
u quered\ — that our opponent may fay to us, we 
cc can hold out, and you cannot ; make peace, or 
<c we will ruin you; — we are, of courfe, a con* 
€€ qiiered people^ — Bonaparte is as much our matter, 
€C as he is of Spain, or Prufiia, or any other of 
<c the countries, which are completely in his power- 
<c and finally, that we live henceforward by Juffer- 
" ance> from France." Now, what are thofe feveral 
pofitions, in logic, but what Dr. Wilfon, who was 
one of the Secretaries of State, during the homely 
days of Walfingham, and Burleigh, happily calls 
the cuckowes fonge; or a repetitio principii, which at- 
tempts to prove one certainty, by repeating a dozen 
uncertainties: and, in fact, what are thofe pofi- 
tions, but fo many affirmations, which the orator 
himfelf dees not expect any one to admit to be 
true. fc I wifti of God, adds the Dofior, that all 

" our 



THE STRENGTH O? G. BRITAIN, 369 

*"* our reafoning might be fattened upon fuch mat- 
" ters, as are necerTary, both for the hearer to 
u learne, and good for the reafoner to teach. 
" In which matters, to move any earned quef- 
" tion, or to doubt overmuch in things no- 
c< thing doubtful, were rather ftarke madnefse, or 
" els plaine foolimnefse." The Doctor, who was a 
learned perfon of great experience, did not fore- 
fee, when he was teaching The Arte of Rbetcrique, 
that any future orator would open his declamation, 
by avowing, — " that be was flanged in deep de- 
« /pair: 1 

But, defpair is not a very claffical principle of ac- 
tion. The liberal youth of our ifland learn far 
other leffons from the Greek, and Roman, books, 
wherein they are fchooled. The purchafe of the 
ground, whereon the 'Carthaginians were encamped, 
at Rome, has been celebrated, by hiftory, as an in- 
structive example of magnanimity. We have, in 
our own annals, inftances of Cimihr fortitude] which 
according to Locke, " is the fupport of the other 
" virtues. 1 ' When the Bifhops, and Barons, or 
Scotland, after a long and unequal conteft, wrote the 
Pope, c ^ that while one of them remained, they 
* c would not fubmit to Edward of England/' they 
difplayed 

<c The better fortitude 

ec Of patience, and heroick martyrdom." 

Whether peace be preferable to war, is one or 
thole truifmsi which Mr. Secretary Wilfon declares, 

B b ' it 



3/° AN ESTIMATE OF 

it were ftarke ma^nefse to quetticn. To perfevere in 
war, upon mere Speculation, is an aftion of bkod- 
thirfiynefiy which Mr, Secretary Burleigh denounces 
wich perdition. But, our orator, rauiy, puts the 
queftion, " whether the Peace now propcfed, 
€i be better, or not, than a continuation of hofti- 
u lines?" 

Confidering the war, as a mercantile project, I 
have already demonilrated, from the mathematicks, 
which cannot be ourfpoken by oratory, that our 
gains would be infinitely greater by the reftoratiori 
of peace, than by the continuation of hoftilities *. 
This demonstration points to a truth, which obvi- 
oufly anfwers the oratorical queftion : it is the 
profits, arifing from previous peace, and the accu- 
mulations, proceeding from prior tranquillity, which 
conftitute the relources of fubfequent war. 

It has been the aim of the foregoing Ertimate to 
recount the wailings of defujir, at particular epochs 
of our hiftory : at the peace of Ryfwickj at the 
peace of Utrecht 3 at the peace of Aix-Ja-Chapelle; 
at the peace of Paris ; and above all, when there 
was the greater! caufe for lamentation, at the con- 
clufion of the American war, in 1782. It re- 
quired three years exertions to tie up the never-end- 
ing, tail of that omened war. This length of labour 
may be faid to have been finiflled, by the fet de- 
ment of the finking fund, in 1786. The queftion 
of our orator fuppofes, that we could have conti- 
nued hoftilities in 1782, with a greater probability of 

* See the Detail, in p. 361. 

{uccefs 3 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN, 37 I 

iliccefs, than we could have renewed them, in 1786, 
or begun them in 1787, in 1788^ in 1790, in 
1 79 1, or in 1792. Amidft his defpair, he forgets 
how preft we were, as Bacon would fpeak, to -un- 
furl cur fails, in the intermediate period, when all 
hands were called, by the affairs cf Holland, in 
1787, of Sweden, in 1788, of Nootka, in 1790, 
and of Oczakow, in 1791. 

The previous weaknefTes of 1782, did not, then, 
prevent the animated exertions of thole fubfequent 
years. A nation, any more than a man, cannot 
make, during the debility of difeafe, the energetic 
efforts of perfect health. But, who would argue 
with defpair> or contend with " foolifhnefs?" 

How much we relinquished, at the conclufion of 
the American war, to France, to Holland, to Spain, 
and to The United States, may be feen in the na- 
tional treaties. By the independence of the revolt- 
ed colonies, three, or four millions of fellow fub- 
jecls, were diffevered from the Britifh empire. But, 
we muft recur to moral arithmetick, for calcu- 
lations of our real loffes, from thofe relinquish- 
ments. I have long thought, what I now think, 
that thofe Colonies, from the peace of 1763 to 
the epoch of their revolt, formed balances to 
to the power, rather than buttreiles to the ftrength, 
of Great Britain. Experience has evinced, whac 
Tucker had taught, that we mould derive, from 
the independence of thofe colonies^ all the ad van- 
B b 2 tages 



37 2 AN ESTIMATE OF 

tages of their trad**, without the vexations, and 

weaknefTes, of their government. At the peace 
with them, we threw off a burden, and retained 
a benefit. By thofe relinquishments to Holland, to 
Spain, and to France, we were not prevented from 
performing To many financial operations, in 1784, 
in 1785, and in 1786: by thofe relinqui^ments, 
we were not deterred from our foreign interpofi- 
tions, in 1787, 1788, 3790, and 1791; and, hif- 
tory will record, that France fell back from the 
affairs of Holland in 1787; that Spain fhrunk from 
the intrufion ofNootka in 17 90; that Sweden felt 
our mediation, in 17885 and that Ruflia recollect- 
ed our management, in 1791. Thofe intimations 
are fufTicient to demonftrate to reafon, though they 
cannot influence defpair, that our refources, and 
ftrength, are, compleatly, within ourfshes. 

Yet, alas ! how feldom do ftatefmen recollect that 
exhilirating truth, in their prefent reafonings. If 
it be true, then, that our refources, and ftrength, 
lie in the People of the United Kingdom, 
what do we lofe, by the feveral relinquishments of 
the Preliminary Treaty? Do we lofe men? No. 
Do we lofe money ? No. Would they have been 
expenfive eftablifhments, during peace ? Yes. 
Would they have been a ft ill greater fource of weak- 
nefs, in war ? Yes. As it has been our fettled po- 
licy to fubdue, during heftiiities, the diftant domi- 
nions of our foes j as it has been our common prao 
tice, arifing from moral eitimate, to return, by ne= 

gociationj 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 373 

gaciation, what we had gained by valour ; we have 
followed, in this preliminary treaty, the example 
of our fathers. If experience be the great inftruc- 
tor of ftatefmen; if the greater relinquifhments of 
the peace of 1783, did not prevent us from re- 
puting injury, and avenging wrongs, with prefi 
alertnefs, in thofe fubfequent years, the fmaller re- 
linquifhments of the peace of 1 801, will not pre- 
vent us from repulfing fimilar injuries, with readier 
alacrity, and obtaining redrefs, with more efficaci- 
ous means. 

Yet, is it urged, as an argument, for continuing 
hoftilities, that France can fay to Britain:— cc We 
" can hold out; but you cannot." — It is not eafy, 
indeed, to eftimate the refources, which confifl of 
bankruptcy, and plunder. But, who would com- 
pare contrarieties together ? bankruptcy with credit, 
plunder with honefty, idlenefs with induftry, diffi- 
pation with thrift: and the argument is, that bank- 
ruptcy and plunder, idlenefs and diffipation, can 
hold out-, while credit and honefty, induftry and 
thrift, can not. Had France demanded, as prelimi- 
nary terms of peace, that the !Ce of Wight mould 
be ceded to her, Gibraltar to Spain, the Orknies 
to Holland, it would have fqpn appeared to the 
world, whether we could hold out ; whether we be a 
conquered people, without refources, and fpirit. I n maic^ 
ing conquefts, and in baffling the enemy, v/e had bor- 
rowed money, at fimple intereft, and paid our debts, 
at compound intereft : now, on thefe data, fcience can 
demonftrate, that we could hold out. On fuch fci- 

B b 3 entitle 



374 AN ESTIMATE OF 

entific principles, we had as we have feen, an ener- 
getic finking fund, paying off our old debts, and a 
fecond finking fond, paying off our new debts, with 
greater energy. By means of the income tax, we 
had laid the foundation of a fund, for carrying on 
the war; without the aid of loans. But, the no- 
velty of the meafure, and the infelicity of feafons, 
had fomewhat retarded fruition, and in fome mea- 
fure difappointed hope. Notwithstanding all that 
I have read, heard, or feen, I am of opinion, that 
the income tax, would have yielded the vail fum, 
for which it was given, if it had fpread wider over 
the country, if it had been rigidly exacted, and ho- 
neftly paid ; and above all, had the confumers been 
protected, by the fame ad of taxation, from the ex- 
tortions of the suppliers. Such a tax, however, 
Ought neither to be given, nor afked, but for de- 
fending the land we live in, and maintaining our 
religion, and laws. But, as it is conftituted, and 
paid, its vexations, in peace, muft produce its re- 
peal. 

Peace was not made, then, becaufe we could not 
holdout. But, it was made; becaufe peace is pre- 
ferable to war, and war is more odious than necef- 
fity; becaufe a war of {peculation is abfurd in its 
principle, and wicked in its means; becaufe the ex- 
perience of every peace, and every war, fince the 
revolution, evinced, that our fickly land, after a lit- 
tle repofe, and fome folace, renews hoftilities, with 
augmented energies; becaufe the point of honour 
had been fatisfied by the declaration of war; becaufe 

the 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 375 

the object of the war, as far as it confifted, in re- 
pelling infult, defending our land, and maintaining 
our conftitution, had been completely obtained, 

« _ — — — Peace, 

*< Thou beft of powers ! who woJid not thee prefer 
* f To guilty glory, and the crimes of War !" 

Yet, is it fuppofed, that we have, by thofe means, 
departed from our national dignity ; and a feditious 
writer is quoted to prove the value of political 
punctilio, and the delicacy of female virtue as if 
fuch points ought to (land oppofed to the fafety of 
the country, and the folace of the people. Among 
the, wonders of a wonderful period, an anti-jacobin 
orator quotes the jacobin Junius, to prove what 
no man will difpute, nor woman deny. After the 
very full detection of that writer, it might have 
been expected that, in a jacobinical age, fuch an 
authority would not have been quoted, either in the 
Senate, or the Forum. The proofs, which I took 
the liberty to lay before the public, in order to fa- 
tisfy every reafonable mind, that M c Auley Boyd 
wrote the letters of Junius, have not been contra- 
dicted. Evidence, indeed, was to be brought from 
India, to prove, that Rofenhagen wrote that jacobin, 
paper: but, fuch evidence will not foon arrive! 
Rofenhagen, indeed, himfelf, claimed the honours 
of the authorfhip : but, with judicious perform, this 
perfonal claim is ftrong proof, that he never did. 
what he would not have avowed. Rofenhao-en re- 
ceived ^.500 from Sir Thomas Rumbold, for dc- 

Bb 4 fending 



376 AN ESTIMATE OF 

fending him. I have compared his defences with 
Boyd's vindication of the pretenfions of the Nabob 
of Arcot. Boyd has far more fmartnefs and vigour, 
in his ftyle, and infinitely more force and cogency, 
in his fentiment. As fome perfons, for whofe opi- 
nion I have great refpecl> doubted the fatisfacbori- 
nefs of my proofs, I have made additional inquiries 
about Boyd, and his writings : and, I am now per- 
fectly certain, from intimations, which I have re- 
ceived from Madras, that PvFAuley Boyd was the 
{editions writer of Junius's Letters. 

It is not, indeed, the taxes of war, which debili- 
tate, and vex the people ! No : It is the defect of the 
tax-bills, which do not prevent the extortions of 
the fuppliers of the articles taxed : a farthing tax is 
laid on a bottle of wine, and immediately a fix- 
pence a bottle is extorted by the fupplier $ a trifle 
is impofed on the running of poft-horfes; and in- 
ftantly, the communications of the country are flop- 
ped by extortion : a trifle is impofed on the poftage 
of le:ters, and this trifle only is added, becaufe the 
pojlmen dare net extort \ a trifle additional is laid 
upon paper, and the ftationer's fortune is made, but 
literature is undone. Thus, the people, who are 
the refources of war, are ' delivered to the Extor- 
tioners, as the people of France, ere while, were put 
into the hands of the Financiers. From thofe inti- 
mations, then, we may trace the caufe of the peo- 
ple's impatience for peace, and their readinefs, after 
a little repofe, to renew hoftiiities, with augmented 
energy, if, while I am fhewing how that impati- 
ence 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN* 377 

snce may be prevented, or mollified, the doclrme of 
Free Trade be quoted againft me by oratory ; then, 
have I done with the fcience of moral arithmetick. 

When inculcating the ende of rhetorique, Dr. Wil- 
fon requires three things of the orator, which he in- 
Ms, every orator is bound to perform; — to teach ; — 
to perfwade ; — to delight. — Our orator teaches, that 
defpair is fortitude that experience is foolifhnefs ; that 
vitlory is defeat ; and that fuccefs and fubmiffion, are the 
fame, in fenfe, and in found. He perfwades his au- 
ditory, that ftern alarms are more charming than merry 
meetings \ that ruin by peace is more certain, and 
fpeedy, than ruin by war ; and that, — 

" Peace fills the kingdom full of holy days; 

** And only feeds the wants of whores and beggars ; 

" And makes the idle drunken rogues get fpinfiers : 

" By Heaven, it is the furfeit of all youth, 

" That makes the tou^hnefs, and the ftren^th of nations 

" Melt into women. 'Tis an eafe that breeds 

" Thieves, and baftards only :"— 

And, knowing what pleafure mofc perfons take, in 
being ruined, our orator delights, by inculcating, that 
<c we are a conquered people that Ci France has the 
u power of defroying us ; and he delights, infinitely, 
u by placing his hearers wider the paw of the Bon" — 
But, Peace is made. 

" Fair Peace ! How delightful thou ! 

By whole wide tie, the kindred fons of men 

Like brothers live, in amity combin'd, 

And unfufpicious faith; while honeft toil 

Gives everv joy, and thofe joys a right, 

Whkh 



37 8 AN ESTIMATE OF 

Which idle, barbarous, rapine but ufurps. 

Beneath thy calm, infpiring influence, 

Science his views enlarges, Art refines, 

And fwelling Commerce opens all her ports. 

BiefT: be the Man divine, who gives us Thee ! 

Who bids the trumpet hufh his horrid clang, 

Nor blow the giddy nations iato rage ; 

Who {heaths the murderous blade ; the deadly gun 

Into the well-pil'd armory returns ; 

And every vigour from the work of death 

To grateful Induflry converting, makes 

The Country flourim, and the City fmile. 

Unviolated, him the virgin fmgs ; 

And him the fmiling mother to her train. 

Of him the (hcpherd, in the peaceful dale, 

Chaunts ; and, the treafures of his labour fure> 

The hufbandman, as at the plough, 

Or team, he toils. With him, the failor fooths, 

Beneath the trembling moon, the midnight wave; 

And the full city, warm, from ftreet to ftreet, 

And ihop to fhop, refponfive, rings of him: 

Nor joys one land alone ; his praife extends 

Far as the fun rolls the dirrufive day; 

Far as the breeze can bear the gifts of Peace, 

'Till all the happy nations catch the fong." 

It is now the bnfmefs of grave men to eftimate 
the value of the Peace, and to give it effect. The 
American war difievered from us, forever, three or 
four millions of people. The late war has been the 
means, under wife management, of uniting to us, 
forever, four millions of neighbouring iubjects. 
7 Ireland, 



THE STRENGTH OF G. BRITAIN. 379 

Ireland, till now, formed, like the revolted colo- 
nies, a balance to our power, rather than a fuppore 
to our ftrength. United Ireland is of more real 
worth to Britain, than the conquered countries to 
France. How far our opponent will be ftrength- 
ened by her extsrifion, contrary to the order of na- 
ture, may well admit of a doubt : how far fo many 
people of fuch different lineages, and languages, 
will eafily coalefce, may admit of a greater doubt. 
Time, and chance, can only determine, whether 
Republican France will continue a mighty power, 
or fink into an unwieldy mafs. One truth is cer- 
tain, that the European continent will, finally^ 
balance itfelf; while our Iflands need not much 
care, for the balance of diffonant powers. Nor, has 
a twelvemonth paned away, fince we ftood, alone, 
fuccefsfully, againfl the whole maritime attacks of 
the neighbouring continent. Hereafter, we have 
only, with our Henry IV. — 

*< . In equal balance, juftly, to weigh 

What wrongs our arms may do ; what wrongs we faffer.? 

From experience, we know r , that our people in- 
create in numbers ; from fact, that they increafe, 
alfo, in knowledge, in induftry, and in wealth; 
from detail, that they have now more fhipping, and 
traffic; from record, that they have, with an enter- 
prizing fpirit, improved the furface of their iflands, 
during the late war, beyond all example. All 
thefe comfortable truths, it has been the endeavour 

' of 



J&O Atf ESTIMATE O? 

of £hk Eftimate> to demonftrate, by tracing their 
progrefs, and inculcating their principles. 

The American war left our finances in a ftate of 
uncommon diforder. It required, as we have feen, 
three years efforts of genius, of wifdom, and of per- 
feverance, to reftore our financial health to a vigor- 
ous flare. The American war left us, without a 
finking fund : the late war has left us one finking 
fund for the old debts of the ftate ; a fecond, for 
the loans of the war, and a third, for redeeming 
collateral debts. 

The effect, of ail thofe means, upon our public 
fecurities, as facts have evinced, has been, in pro- 
portion, to the powerful means, which were pro- 
vided for augmenting their value. At prefent, 
one year of peace is altogether adequate, to the na- 
tional end of reftoring our financial affairs to their 
ufual efneacy. 

Before the late war began, it was doubted, by 
ingenious inveftigation, whether our (hipping, and' 
trade, would (land the feveral fhocks of bank- 
ruptcy, and hoitilities. Notwithstanding both thofe 
caufes of deterioration, our commerce, and naviga- 
tion, increafed, during the war, beyond the exam- 
ple of former times. It will be equally doubted 
by political fcepticifm, whether our fhipping, and 
trade, will continue, in peace, at their recent ele- 
vation. Experience inculcates, however, that what 
has invariably happened, at the end of five long 
.wars.,, fince the Revolution, will again happen, at 

pre feat, 



THE STRENGTH OF G, BRITAIN, 381 

prefent. Our commerce, and (hipping, have al- 
ways rebounded with uncommon energy, upon the 
return of every peace, after the conclufion of ex- 
tended war. A detail has already evinced, that this 
exhilarating effect muft neceffarily follow the recent 
Pacification. We have now more enterprize, and 
knowledge, more correfpondence, and capital, 
than energized the debility of former times. 
And, it is a point agreed, in commercial oeccnomy, 
that a rich, and induftrious nation will always over- 
power, and difconcert, every people, who are indo- 
lent, from their infelicity, poor, from their indo- 
lence, and weak, from their fubordination. We 
are in pofTeilion of all the neceflary ingredients of a 
vaft commerce. And it is a maxim, which is 
founded upon obfervation, that trade will always 
find a port ; but a port cannot always find trade* 
Why, then, mould doubt embitter the enjoyments cf 
the prefent! — 

" Eritain, the queen of ifles, our fair pcfTdliorij, 

" Secur'd by nature, laughs at foreign force : 

" Her Ships her bulwark, and the Sea her dyke ; 

* ( Sees Commerce in her lap, and braves, the Wwlil* 



NOTICES 



OF THE 



LIFE 

P 

GREGORY KING. 

To which are fubjoined, 
I. His Political Conditions ; 
His Scheme of the Inhabitants of the City of Ghuctjler 

III. His Computation of the endowed Hofpitals, 
and Alms Houfes, in England, 



[ 3«5 3 



NOTICES 

OF 

THE LIFE 

OF 

G REGO RY K IN G, 



THIS ingenious, and modeft man, was born on 
the 1 5th of December 1648, in the pari fh of 
Stow, at Litchfield ; which was alfo the birth-place 
of Afhmole, and of the father of Camden. This cu- 
rious computer was the fon of Gregory King, and 
Elizabeth, his firft wife, who was the daughter of 
Mr. J. Andrews of Sandwich, in Kent. This family 
of Kings were originally of Leicefter, where they had 
lived for generations, and long remained*. 

The father of our political arithmetician was him- 
felf a ftudier of the mathematics - } and practifed 
furveying of land, and dyalling, as a profefiion; 
but with more attention to good fellow/hip, than 
mathematical ftudies generally allow: and, the 
care of the family devolved of courfe on the mother, 
who, if fhe had been lefs obfeure, had emulated 
the moft eminent of the Roman matrons. The fa- 



* Nichols's Leicell. vol. iii. pref. v. 

C c ther, 



386 THE LIFE OF 

ther, however, with all his laxity of company -keeping, 
was extremely attentive to the education of his 
children *. 

With this parental ardour for literature, the fa- 
ther <c packt away to fchool, at two years of age/' 
his little Gregory to fome matron old, who is " loll 
a in the dreary fhades of dull obfcurity." In- 
ftructed by her, who " knew unruly brats with 
" birch to tame/' he read the pfalter, when three 
years old, and the bible at four, when he could 
fcarcely fpeak. While thus employed, he was 
feized with a paralytic complaint, which fo affect- 
ed his perfon, though not his intellect, that his fa- 
ther, fearing a perpetual deformity, often prayed, 
that God would take his fon to himfelf. He reco- 
vered, however* and while he was not fix years 
old, he was fent to the Free School, to learn his 
accidence. Mr. Thomas Bevans had the fatisfac- 
tion of teaching this little genius Latin, Hebrew, 
and Greek. In his eleventh year, he learned rhe- 
toric, while he himfelf taught children " to write, 
<£ and call accounts." In his thirteenth year, he 
read Hefiod, and Homer; and while he was en- 

* Gregory King, the Herald, feems to have forefeen, with 
heraldic prefcience, the danger of oblivion. And, he left be- 
hind him Mifcellaneous notes of his birth, education, and 
« advancement," which have been published by Mr. W. D al- 
ia way, in his Inquiries into the fcience of Heraldry, from a 
mannfeript in the Bodleian Library. Tliefe Notes, which I 
have abridged, unfortunately end in 1694. I have tried to 
glean fome additional notices, which continue the fubfequent in- 
cidents of the ufeful life of Gregory King. 

eased 



\ 



GREGORY KING. 387 

gaged in making Greek verfes, he taught himfelf 
" to furvey land," while his father was more agree- 
ably occupied with his good fellow/hip : yet, ought it 
not to be forgotten, that the father taught his fon, as 
much at home, as the boy learned at fchool. At 
this period of his life, he gained money, and ap- 
plaufe, by acting, in the Free School, the fool's part 
of Ropeny, in the paftoral comedy of Amyntas. He 
diftinguifhed himfelf fo much, in playing the fool, 
that this circumitance introduced him into life, 
while his more folid accomplifhments of learning, 
as they were lefs feen, were palled over in neglect, 
and feem never to have contributed any thing to his 
fortune, or his fame. 

Jn December 1662, at the age of fourteen, our 
actor, who had attracted the notice of Dr. Hunter 
of Litchfield, was recommended, by him, as a clerk 
to Dug dale, whofe labours have infured his im- 
mortality. In his fervice, and fchool, Gregory 
King was initiated in the knowledge of Heraldry, 
and Drawing; — and he taught himfelf French. He 
now attended this great antiquary, and herald, upon 
his refpective vifitations, during feveral years. Ic 
was, on thofe journeys, that he acquired the local 
knowledge^ and the accuracy of mind, which ena- 
bled him, in after-times, to become one of the 
greateft matters of political arithmetic, during the 
intelligent age of Davenant, and Petty. 

But, Dugdale's vifitations being ended in 1667, 
this circumftance brought to a conclufion the fer- 
vices, and inftructions of King. Dugdale, however, 
C c % re com- 



388 the life of 

recommended him to Lord Hatton, who, as an 
antiquary, wifhed for the affiftance of an Archaiolo- 
gical Secretary. In this fituation, King continued 
to the year 1669, when Lord Hatton's paflion, or 
purfuits, failing, he civilly difmiffed his helper. 
King now returned to his native .place, where he 
found his father married to a fecond wife. Here 
he continued a twelvemonth; teaching the youth 
to write, and caft accounts ; and employing himfelf 
in painting, and in inftrucling inquifitive perfons to 
read ancient writings. While he was thus occupied, 
he was ftill under age. King was now invited by 
Mr. Chetwynd, of Injeftry, a gentleman of curious 
learning, to perufe his charters, to draw his feals> 
and to form his genealogy*. King was at length 
known, as a perfon of various knowledge, and ufe- 
ful accomplishments : and he was invited by the 
dowager lady Gerard, to be her fteward, auditor, 
and fecretary. With her ladyfhip, he remained at 
Sandon, in Staffordfhire, acting in thofe feveral 
characters, and helping her ladyuhip, in drawing, 
and painting, till Auguft 1672. 

He at this epoch removed from Sandon to Lon- 
don, the proper fcene, for genius to exert its powers, 
and talents to employ their faculties. He was, natu- 
rally, welcomed by his old mailer, Dugdale, who in- 
troduced him to the heralds, and to Hollar, the en- 

* In the 6th vol. of Leland's Itin. p, 96, there is a letter to 
Hern, dated the i6ch May, 171 1, which mentions this con- 
nexion ; but mitfakes the name ; calling King, Charles, inftead 
of Gregory. 

graver. 



GREGORY KING. 389 

graver. But, King was full to be employed, in 
ibme profitable fervice, which might be analogous 
to his ftudies, and contributive to his livelihood, 
Such a perfon was wanted, by Ogilby, who was 
then occupied, under a patent, as Royal Cofmo- 
grapher, in book-making and printing, in map- 
making and engraving, in road meafuring and etch- 
ing. To him, was King now recommended by Hol- 
lar i and, during fome time, was our ingenious cal- 
culator employed, with Ogilby, in writing notes, in 
engraving feals, and in reducing fculp. A new 
Britannia was at length projected, by that noted 
projector: and, roads were now to be meafured, 
towns to be khnographied, and mires to be furvey- 
ed. King attended Falgate, in making a furvey of 
his native county of Effex, in 1672 ; collecting notes 
out of churches, and copying records, for the hif- 
torical department. King was the fir ft, who made 
a furvey of London upon a fcale of a hundred feet 
to an inch, which cxprefied the ground -plot of 
everv houfe and garden: this curious map of the 
metropolis was engraved by Hollar. 

But, fuch undertakings required more capital, 
than Ogilby could command, and, in this diftrefs, 
he projected a lottery of books, which King ingeni- 
ously contrived, and honeftly managed, for him : 
he alfb framed a leffer lottery of books, for Brif- 
tol fair, at St. James's tide, 1673, which turned to 
the good advantage of Ogilby, under the manage- 
ment of King. 

For ail thole helps, the Royal Cofmographer was 
C c 3 grateful, 



3 gO THE LIFE OF 

grateful, although he was poor, and old. And Ogilby 
propofed to King to make, on his own account, a 
furvey of Weftminfter, upon the fame fcale, as that 
of London. This great work, he undertook, in 
1674, and performed, with the help of Falgate, in 
lefs than a twelvemonth. He was thus induced to 
fix his lodging in St. James's-ftreet, Covent-gar- 
den, at the houfe of Mrs. Ann Powel, a maiden 
gentlewoman, the daughter of Mr. J. Powel, ofTir- 
ley, Gloucefterfhire, who was of the Powels of 
Denbigh : and her he married, on the 2Cth of July, 
3674, in the 26th year of his age. 

Weftminfter was at length furveyed ; and King 
now occupied himfelfwith engraving maps of va- 
rious countries, and geographical cards, which were 
comjbofed by Sir Peter Wych, and firft publlflied by 
Broome, the bookfeller; and which were the pro- 
totypes of all the fubfequent cards of that nature. 
King {till continued, on different occafjons, his ori- 
ginal bufinefs of furveying land, and copying chartu- 
laries. He now furveyed Soho-fields> projected Sobo- 
Jquare, and the adjacent ftreets, and drew up the arti- 
cles, for erecting the buildings. In 168 1, he copied, 
for the Prefident of the Council, perhaps, the Privy 
Council Regifters, during the interefting reign of 
Edward VI.* He affifted Sandford, in drawing 
up his well-known genealogical hiftory; compiling 
a part of the text, and preparing the whole for the 
prefs, 

* I have in my library this copy, in three folio- volume?, 
finely written by King, with his name infcribed, as copyilT, 
and fplendidly bound, and ornamented, with an earl's coronet. 

Thefe 



GREGORY KING. 3 01 

Thefe occupations enabled King to renew his ac- 
quaintance with Lee, the Cheiier herald, who in- 
troduced him to Mr. Andrew Hay, the fecretary 
to the Earl of Norwich, who then acled as Deputy 
Earl Marfhal. In the difpute, which, at that time 
exifted, between the jurifdiclion of Walker, the 
garter king, and the authority of the Earl Mar- 
fhal, King made himfelf ufeful to the higher power, 
and this ufefulaefs made him Rouge Dragon, in 
1677, upon the deaths of Walker, an d Lee; being 
created on the 24th of June, in that year, at the 
College of Arms, by the Earl of Peterborough, the 
Deputy Earl Marfhal. The death of Walker 
brought to the head of the College of Arms, Dug* 
dale, who renewed his kindnefs to his old clerk, 
while he was yet inconfiderable, from the late lofs 
of his friend Lee, and poor, from the fmallnefs of 
his official emoluments. At Lady Day, 1680, 
King removed into die college, where he was 
nearer his proper affairs, and was better able to at- 
tend to the interefts of himfelf, and his friends. 

In 168 1, 1682, and 1683, King was, chiefly, 
occupied, in making heraldic furveys of feverai 
fhires, whereby he gained fome money, but loft 
the kindnefs of Sir Henry St. George, the Claren- 
ceux. This misfortune, however, as it was not 
owing to his fault, did not prevent his advancement. 
The death of the Duke of Norfolk brought his for: 
the Earl of Arundel into the high office of Ear/ 
Marfhal. King's ufefulnefs, and modefr.y, which 
had been noticed, by this eminent perfon, were 

C c 4 novr 



39 2 THE LIFE OF 

now rewarded by him : and, King was on this occa- 
fion appointed regiftrar of the College of Arms, not- 
withftanding the objections of Sir Henry St.George y 
an office, that he had for fome time executed, for 
the emoluments of Devemfh, his predeceffor. The 
enmity of Clarenceux did not prevent him, from 
afking King's company, and affiftance, when he 
made his vifitation of Cambridge, and Huntingdon, 
in 1684. 

But, the time was at length come, when our Rouge 
Dragon was to be engaged in greater events. The 
demife of Charles II. penetrated the heart of King, 
who had been {truck with the good humour, and 
accuftomed grace of a prince, who had acquired 
thofe captivating arts in the fchool of inftruclive ad- 
verfity. He bore a confiderable part, in the fune- 
ral folemnity of that lamented fovereign j as he pre- 
pared the efcccbeons, by direction of Dugdale. And, 
he attended the proclaiming of James II., with fad 
dijmay^ and after thoughts difiurbed> Jubmitting to 
what Jeemed remedilefs. Our Rouge Dragon now 
prepared, by Dugdale's order, no doubt, ff the ce- 
<c remonials, and fchemes," for the fubfequent co- 
ronation. And, king James, declaring, that he 
would have the account of his coronation printed, 
Sandford, and Gregory King, were allowed by the 
Earl Marfhal to execute the king's wifh. The ma- 
nagement, and execution, of this undertaking fell 
chiefly upon our Rouge Dragon ; yet, he allowed 
Sandford's name to [land in the title-page ; and re- 
ferved only one-third of the profits to himfel£ with- 
out 



GREGORY KING. ^93 

out any of the honours. His prudence forefaw, 
that detraction would fallen on a work, which 
could not be made perfect. The two undertakers, 
merely, faved the expence of the book, amounting 
to £.600 : for, the jculps, being many, and tedious, 
the necefTary time carried the hour of publication 
forward to the eve of another coronation. In 1687, 
our Rouge Dragon attended the violation of London 
by defire of the Clarenceux^ as he had before at- 
tended him on the vifications of Cambridge, and 
Huntingdon. King had long ftruggled with for- 
tune. His bounty to his relations had abforbed 
all his favings, before his marriage. Ogilby had 
died indebted to him £.200, in 1676. His marri- 
age, however, laid a good foundation of future 
competence, though fruition was fomewhat retard- 
ed by his liberal manner of living. In 1687, he 
began, however, to lend money on houfes. In 
1 683, he purchafed land, in the pari ill of Holy 
Crofs, EfTex, of the value of £. 2 1. is, a year. He 
foon after laid out £.1,260, in purchafing a three - 
and-thirty years leafe of fixty houfes, in St. Catha- 
rines, the rental whereof amounted to £.220 a 
year : yet, to accomplifh this great adventure, he 
was obliged to borrow more than half the purchafe 
money. And the taxes of king William's time 
running very high, and the rents falling, thefe two 
unlooked-for circumfrances reduced a good bargain 
to little value. In 1688, his old affociate Sandford, 
who fmarted from the fufpenfion of the Earl Mar- 
2 fhal, 



394 THE LIFE OF 

fhall, refigned ta him his place of Lancafter Herald, 
which coft him a hundred and fixty pounds. 

But, uncommon profpecls again opened on his in- 
telligent eyes. When he heard of the imprifon- 
ment of the feven bifhops, he cried out : <c Then, 
Cf farewell to popery in England " forefeeing, that 
fuch violence mud deftroy itfelf. And, upon read- 
ing the Prince of Orange's declaration^ he equally 
foretold, " that the prince came not without an ex- 
<c peclation of the crown." Our herald pitied the 
misfortunes of king James, the more ; as he was 
attached, with fo many greater perfons, in that age, 
to the hereditary defcent of the crown. Thefe fen- 
timents, however, did not prevent him, from obey- 
ing the Earl MarfhaPs order, founded on the autho- 
rity of the Houfe of Lords, for proclaiming king 
"William, and queen Mary. He afterwards pro- 
claimed the order for the Court of Claims ; affifted 
at feveral fittings of a committee of bifhops, for 
drawing up the coronation fervice ; and prepared 
four books for that ceremony ; one for the king, 
one for the queen, one for the princefs Anne, and 
one for the bilhop of London ; as he had recently 
done before the coronation of king James : and, he 
gave extraordinary affiftance, in forming the cere- 
monial of that extraordinary folemnity ; and, upon 
the coronation day, he undertook the fatiguing talk 
of calling into order the peers, and peerefTes, in the 
Houfe of Lords, their majefties being pre fen t. 
Such were the parts, which our herald was defiined 

to 



GREGORY KING. 

to act in that uncommon fcene, wherein great 
knowledge of ceremony, and greater fortitude of 
mind, were requifite to juft performance. 

Our herald was at length to diftinguifh himfelf as 
the interpreter of the wifhes, and civilities of kings, 
and princes, to each other. The Elector of Branden- 
burgh was chofen knight of the garter, in January, 
1689. And, Sir Thomas St. George, the garter- 
king, declining, from his great age, the fplendid 
tafk of carrying the order, our herald was prevailed 
on to accept that office, having Latin, and French, 
and other qualities fufficient. His coadjutor, in 
this commiffion, was the nephew of Burnet, the 
bifhop of Salisbury, Johnfton, who was after- 
wards fecretary of (late in Scotland. The commit 
fion, the credential letter, the inftruflions were all 
drawn, and engroffed by our herald, and approved 
of by the chancellor of the order. The commif- 
fioners fet out, in February ; arrived at Berlin, in 
May ; and after a diftinguifhed reception, they in- 
vented the elector with the order of the garter, 
accompanied by the accuftomed fplendour of fuch 
ceremonies ; and they were* rewarded with ade- 
quate munificence. Returning by Hamburgh, our 
herald was entertained, nobly, by Sir Paul Rycaut, 
and by the Englifh merchants, who, in doing ho- 
nour to the king's heraldic repre fen tative, on a 
fplendid embaffage, tried to do honour alio to the 
nation. And, returning to London, in AugurT, 
our herald concluded his negociation, by making 
the compliments of the electoral family to the queen, 

and 



3 $6 THE LIFE OF 

and delivering to her majefty an amber cabinet from 
the eleclrefs. 

The Duke of Zell was elected a knight of the 
garter, in the beginning of 1691 : and the king, 
declaring that he would invert the Duke with his 
own hands, at the Hague, Sir Thomas St. George 
thought himfelf obliged to carry the enfigns ; and 
was induced to invite our herald to accompany him, 
on an errand lb profitable, and fplendid. They ar- 
rived at the Hague, the day after king William had 
departed to endeavour to raife the fiege of Mons. 
The magnificent ceremony of inverting the Duke 
took place, on the 8th of May, in the prefence of 
feveral Englifh nobles of the higheft rank. Re- 
warded, and gratified, the heralds returned to Lon- 
don, in June, when they concluded an extraordinary 
fcehe of illuftrious action. 

From this elevation, our herald defcended into 
his youthful walks of land furveying. In July and 
Auguft 1691, he performed what he had long pro- 
rnifed to Jefus College, Cambridge, by furveying 
their lands in Oxford, Gloucester, and Glamorgan- 
ihire. The wet, which he received, in performing 
this truft, brought on a fciatic, which greatly dif- 
trefled him. This did not, however, hinder him 
from drawing up the claim of lady EfTex Griffin to 
the barony of Audley of Waldon, as he had fuc- 
cefsfully fupported the claim of Lord Thanet to the 
barony of Clifford, in the year before. He foon 
after conducted the inftallarion of the Earl of Dor- 
fet at Windfor. And owing to whatever caufe, 

his 



GREGORY KING. 397 

his fciatic returned with fuch violence, as to de- 
prive him, for a time, of the ufe of his limbs, and 
of his fpeech, and memory. This was the more 
diftrefsful, as the king fent orders, for carrying the 
garter to the Elector of Saxony. Sir Thomas St. 
George was then occupied with love, and marriage, 
at the ripe age of feventy-eight : and, he entreated 
our herald, while he was yet in a ftate of convale- 
fcence, to undertake that fplendid, but fatiguing 
embaffage. Their majefties' refident at the courts 
of Lunenburgh, Sir William Coir, was joined in 
the com million with our herald, who drew up the 
com million, the credential letter, and inftrucTions. 
Yet, the difpatch of thefe authorities was attended, 
with great delay, and the payment of the requifite 
money, with ftill greater. Thefe envoys, at length, 
arrived at Drefden, where they had been long ex- 
pected, on the 9th of January, 1693. It was now 
refolved to outdo the Elector of Brandenburgh, in 
magnificent expence, and munificent rewards. The 
grand ceremony was performed, on the 26th of Ja- 
nuary, with extraordinary fplendour. Such carou- 
fals, as were on this occafion, difplayed, had feldom 
been feen. The two commiffioners, as the cuftom 
was, dined with the Elector. And our herald, de- 
parting from Drefden, the fcene of fo many fefti vi- 
nes, arrived at the Hague, where he delivered the 
Elector's compliments to the king, who allowed 
him to return to England, pleafed with his journey, 
and enriched with prefents. 

Our herald was again occupied with his ufual af- 
fairs,, 



39^ THE LIFE OF 

fairs, till the 5th of June, 1694, when he conducted 
the inftalment of feveral princes, and peers, at 
Windfor, with the gorgeous ceremonies of that un- 
ufual fcene. 

In the mean time, Sir John Dugdale propofed to 
refign his office of mrroy to Mr. King : but, the 
Earl Marfhal, owing to whatever caufe, refufed his 
confent to every importunity. The demife of 
Mary, on the 28th of December, 1694, giving rife 
to a conteft between the matter of the wardrobe 
and the Earl Marfhal, our herald was involved in 
the conteft of thofe mighty potentates. And, as 
the difguft of the Earl Marfhal was, at length, 
railed to refentment, he foon after transferred the pen 
of regiftrar from Mr. King to Doctor Plott, who 
had been recently nominated Moubray herald ex- 
traordinary. 

Our herald was, at length, deflined, to act, in 
a very different fphere. The tendency of his ge- 
nius led him to political arithrnetic> in an age, when 
this fcience of ftatefmen was brought into repute by 
men of extraordinary powers. And, Gregory King 
produced his Political Convhifions> in 1696, though 
his modefty did not publifh thofe curious efforts of 
art, and fagacity. He allowed Doctor Dave- 
nant, a well known writer of thofe times, to perufe, 
and to garble his political conchjicns. This writer, 
when treating " of the ufe of political arithmetic," 
praifes Gregory King, for his general knowledge of 
this fcience, and fpeaks of his " fcheme of the inha- 

<c bitants 



GREGORY KING. 299 

" bitants cf {England, as more diftinfl, than was 
cc ever made, concerning the people of any other 
cc country*. He avows his obligations to that 
" wonderful genius/' for many lights, and informa- 
tions. He, indeed, made great ufe of thofe obfer- 
vations, by publifhing mutilated extracts from a 
cqnfiftent whole. The obiervations, and conclu- 
fions, of Gregory King, are now published, at 
length, for the firft time. His original genius, his 
local knowledge, his fcientinc practice, qualified 
him, in a high degree, to carry this practical fcience 
of public bufinefs far beyond Sir William Petty, 
the original inventor of the art. 

From the publications of Davenant, it had been 
apparent, if there were not other evidence, that 
Gregory King was of a very communicative difpo- 
ficion. By means of Stepney, who is frill remem- 
bered, as a negociator, and a poet, he laid before 
the Beard of Trade, in September, 1696, " a 
tc fcheme of the inhabitants of the city of Glou- 
:( cefter." This fcheme is now fubjoined to the 
political conclufions of Gregory King, as a proper 
fupplement. To this paper, I have added, for the 
ufeful purpofe of contraft, the numbers of houfes, of 
the males and females, and of the fouls, in the fame 
city, at prefent. 

We may eafily fuppofe, that King became ac- 
quainted with Stepney, while they were both fo 

# Dav. Difcourfes on the Pub. Rev. and Trade, 1698, 

p. 17, 

frequently 



406 THE LIFE OF 

frequently employed, as envoys to foreign courts % 
the one for matters of ceremony, the other, for 
points of bufinefs. While the Board of Trade 
were occupied with the difficult, and important, con- 
cerns of the Poor, Stepney communicated to them, 
King's computation of the endowed hofpitals, and 
alms-houfcs, in England. This was received, on 
the 27th of September, 1697, by the Board, who 
cc ordered it to be copied for ufe, as occafion may 
ferve*." This paper, I have now lubjoined, as a 
fecond fupplement to King's political conclufions : 
while the poor continue to be objects of our care, 
this computation of fuch an arithmetician will always 
have its value. Thus ufeful was Gregory King, in 
his life ; and thus ufefully are his labours brought 
into political confideration, at prefent. 

The gratitude of Davenant fpoke of Gregory 
King, as a jewel, which was fit, for any Ji at ef mam's 
cabinet. This friendly intimation feems not to have 
been quite difregarded. The expenditure of the 
wars of William, and of Anne, required, that the 
public accounts mould be flated. An annual act 
feems to have parTed, during the firft reign, for that 
important end, from 1692-f. This falutary mea- 
fure was continued, at the commencement of the 

* The Boards Journal, B. 279. 

f 4-5. W. and M. ch. 11.; 5-6. W. and M. ch. 23, j 
6-7. W. and M. ch. 23. ; 6-7. W. ch. 7 ; 7-8. W. ch. 8. for 
dating the public accounts of the kingdom, 

fecond 



GREGORY KING. 40* 

fccond of thofe hoftile reigns*. Gregory King act- 
ed, as fecretary to the comptrollers of army ac- 
counts; he continued, as the fecretary of the com- 
miffioners for dating the public accounts, to the ' 
hour of his death f. From the tendency of his ge- 
nius, from the courfe of his life, from the nature of 
his employments ; we may perceive how qualified 
he was to eftimate the ftate of the nation. 

In the midft of all thofe employments, Gregory 
King had often reafon to think that, cc the world is 
cc full of rubs." The weight of Sir John Van- 
burgh rubbed againft his feelings, in 1709. It was 
then in contemplation to bring Sir John into the 
patent of Clarenceux, though he was a Gran- 
ger, in the college of heralds. On the 10th of 
January, 1710, King wrote to Mr. Harley, to 
whom he was known ; remonftrating againft a mea- 
fure, which was ruinous to the college* and injuri- 
ous to himfelf : he ftated to the minifter, his <c be- 
cc ing bred up from a youth under Sir William 
<c Dugdale his employment, for twenty years 
under the garter king, whofe fworn deputy he long 
had been : he urged cc the dillervice to the public, 
u to have the heads of a fociety ignorant in its fa* 

* 1 An. ch. 10. 

f His Epitaph, on the 17th of March, 1711-123 Grego- 
ry King, from the cornmifiioners for Hating the public accounts, 
laid before the Koufe of Lords, the receipts and iflues of the 
exchequer, front Michaelmas 1710, to do. 171 1. Lord's 
Journ. of that date. 

D d « culty 9 



402 THE LIFE OP 

cc culty, and a coadjutor himfelf to want a coad- 
ffc jutor*." Vanburgh's wit, I fear, prevailed over 
King's arithmetick. 

Gregory King did not long furvive that mortifi- 
cation, which facrificed propriety to influence, and 
fubftituted ignorance for knowledge. He died, on 
the. 29th of Auguft, 17 1 2, when he had paffed his 
grand climacteric ; and was buried in the chancel 
of St. Bennet's, Paul's Wharf, on the 3d of Septem- 
ber, by the fide of the wife of his youth f. He was 
twice married 5 firft, to Anne Powel, as we have 
feen : and fecondly in February, 1701, to Frances 
Graham, the filter of William Graham. He had 
onefon, Thomas, and two daughters, Elizabeth, and 
Frances, who all died, before their father, under 
age. He made his will, on the 30th of No- 
vember, 1709; to which he added two codi- 
cils ; whereby he conftituted his wife his fole exe- 
cutrix, who raifed, as fhe was directed by his will, a 
monument to his memory, which will be longer 
prefer ved by his political conclujions* He left her 
in eafy circumfcances 3 and he bequeathed many le- 
gacies to his relations, to whom he was always 
kind J 5 and to his friends, to whom he was ever 
obliging. 

Gregory 

* The original letter is in the Eritifn Mufeum. Harl. No. 

f Farim Regifter. His monumental infcription, is in Le 
Neve, p. 243; and in Dallaway, wherein the name of his fe- 
Cond wife is blundered. 

% He mentioned his brother, John King, " long fince [1709] 
deceafed," and his brother Thomas King, « of the Excife Of- 
4 fcce, 



GREGORY KING. 403 

Gregory King was obvioufly an accomplifned 
perfon : he wrote a beautiful hand* ; and he prac- 
tifed drawing, fkilfully. From nature, he had very 
vigorous faculties ; quicknefs of apprehenfion, and 
ftrength of fagacity : from education, and habit, he 
pofTefTed fteady application to whatever employ- 
ment ; and dextrous facility, in whatever affairs : 
and he was a perfon of fuch powers, as to diftin- 
guifh him, in an age, when eminent men, in his fe- 
veral accomplifhments, abounded. He who fur- 
paffed Petty, as a political calculator, muft be al- 
lowed to have been a matter of moral arithmeticko 
As a Herald, King is ranked next, in knowledge, 
to Glover, who is deemed the firft ; and was the 
inftrudor of Camden. His whole life furnimes an 
example how a man of talents, and addrefs, may 
furmount every difficulty, and raife himfelf from 
poverty, and infignificance, to competence, and 
diftindtion. 

fice, London :" but, the particularity of his will does not men- 
tion any brother, or any children of any brother, of the name of 
Charles King. 

* His autograph is in Dallaway's Heraldry, pi. xv. facing 
p. zzi : but, I know not, if there be any piclure of him. 



I. 



NATURAL AND POLITICAL 

OBSERVATIONS 

AND 

CONCLUSIONS 

UPON THE 

STATE AND CONDITION 

OF 

ENGLAND, 
1696; 

Br 

GREGORY KING, ESQ^. LANCASTER H. 



Dd 3 



THE ?OLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



OF GREGORY K1N T G. 



407 



THE PREFACE. 



IF, to be well apprized of the true flare, and condi- 
tion of a nation, efpecially in the two main articles, of 
its people, and wealth, be a piece of political know- 
ledge, of all others, and at all times, the rnoft ufeful 
and necefiarys then, furely, at a time when a long 
and very expenfive war againft a potent Monarch, 
(who, alone, has flood the ihock of an alliance and 
confederacy of the greateft part of Chriftendom), 
feems to be at its crifis ; fuch a knowledge of our 
own nation muft be of the higheft concern : but, fince 
the attaining thereof (how neceftary and defirable fo- 
ever) is next to impoffible, we muft content ourfeives 
with fuch near approaches to it, as the grounds, we 
have to go upon, will enable us to make. 

However, if having better foundations than here- 
tofore, for calculations of this kind, we have been en- 
abled to come very near the truth ; then, doubtlefs, 
the following obfervations and conclusions will be 
acceptable to thofe, who have not entirely given up 
themfelves to an implicit belief of popular falfehoods. 
But, the vanity of people, in overvaluing their own 
ftrength, is fo natural to all nations, as well as ours, 
that, as it has influenced all former calculations of 
this kind, both at home and abroad, fo if thefe, even 
thefe papers may be allowed not to have erred on that 
hand, I am of opinion they will not be found to have 
erred on the other. 



,1 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



THE CONTENTS. 

Page- 

§ I. THE h umber of People in England and Wales, calculated 

from the Ajfejfments on Marriages, Births, and Burials - 409 

§ II. The Proportion of England, in Acres, and People, to France, and 
Holland, to Europe, and to the World in general ; with a 
Calculation of the Number of People now in the World - 413. 

§ III. The fever al Diftinclions of People, as to Males, and Females, 
married, and unmarried, Children, Servants, and So- 
journers - - - - ~4 I 5 

§ IV '.The fever a 1 Ages of 'the People - • - 416 

§ V. The Origination, and Inct eafe of the People of England, with 

fome Obfervations about Procreation - - - 417 

§ VI. The Annual Income, and Expence, of the Nation, A° 1688 ;*- 
with a Scheme of the Income, and Expence, of the fever al 
Families refpeclivcly ; and a Calculation of ihe Quantity of 
Silver and Gold, in England, France, and Holland, in 
Europe, a:id in the World in general, and of the lncreafe, 
and Confumpticn thereof - - - - 42 3 

§ VII. The fever al Sorts of Land in England, and the V alue, and 
Producl thereof; with a Scheme of the Live Stock of the 
Nation, in Cattle, &c. &c. of the Fbfi yearly confumed as 
Food - - - - 428 

§ VIII. The Beer, Ale, and Malt annually confumed in England, and 

the Revenue of Excife arifing thereby - - 43 1 

§ IX. A Calculation of the Produceof the Pell Bills, and font e other 
Taxes, viz. The Tax on Marriages, Births, and Burials, 
and on Hovfes and W 'ndoivs ; and what may be raifed on 
Jo?ne Commodities not yet taxed - - "433 

§ X. The State of the Nation, A @ 1695, and what may be the Ef- 
fect of cont inning the War to 1698 inclufve - - 437 

J XL The State of France, and Holland, in 1688, and 1695 - 439 

$ XII. The State and Condition of the Three Nations of, England, 
France, and Holland, compared c?te njjith another, with 
refpeel to the Years 1688, and 1695 - "443 

§ XIII. The Expence of the Three Nations proportioned for the Years 

1688 ^^1695 - - - 44^ 



Or GREGORY KING, 



4O9 



1696. 



§ I. there as the enfuing Treatife depends, 

VV chiefly, upon the knowledge of the true 
number of people in England, and fuch other 
circumftances relating thereunto, as have been collected 
from the affelTments on marriages, births, and 

BURIALS, PARISH REGISTERS, and Other PUELIC 

accounts: We fhall, firft, exhibit the calculation 
of the number of people, as they appear by the faid 
aireffments. 

1 ft. Asto the Number of the People of Englanp. 
In this calculation we (hall confider, 

1. The number of inhabited houfes; 

2. The number of people to each houfe; 

3. The number of tranlitory people, and vagrants. 

The number of houfes in the kingdom, as charged, 
in the books of the hearth office, at Lady-day, 1690, 
were - - - 1,319,215. 



The kingdom increafing at this time about 9,000 
people per annum, as will appear in the enfuing dif- 
courfe, the increafe of houfes fhould be about 2,000 
per annum ; but, by reafon of the prefent war with France, 
not much above 1,000 per annum : fo that by the year 
1695, the increafe cannot have been above 6 or 7000, 
which makes the prefent number of houfes; that is to 
fay, fuch as were fo charged, in the books of the hearth- 
office, to be about - = = = 1,326,000. 



But, 



4IO THE POLITICAL CON-CLITSTCNS 

But, whereas the chimney money being charged on 
the tenant or inhabitant, the - divided houfes (land as 
fo many diftincl dwellings, in the accounts of the faid 
hearth -office ; and whereas the empty houfes, fniiths 
fhops, &c. are included in the faid account; all whichmay 
very well amount to i in 36 or 37, (or near 3 per cent.) 
which, in the whole, may be about 36,000 houfes 5 
it follows, that the true number of inhabited houfes in 
England is not above - - - - - 1,290,000. 

Which, however, in a round number, we 



fhallcall .... i i>3°°>°oo 



And mall thus apportion : 

Houfes. 

London and the Bills of Mortality, - 105,000 
The other cities and market towns, - -195,000 
The villages and hamlets, - 1,000,000 

In all 1,300,000 

Having thus adjufted the number of Inhabited houfes, 
we come to proportion the number of fouls to each 
houfe, according to what we have obferved from the 
laid aiieffments or marriages, births and burials, in 
leveral parts of the kingdom : — viz. 

That London within the walls, produced at 1 g £uis 
a medium, a:moir J 



The 16 pari (Ik's without the walls, - full 4| fouls per houfe. 

And the reft of the faid bills, simoft - 4§ fouls per houfe. 

That the other cities and market towns pro- 1 , r . , r 

duced at a medium _ £ 4t fouls per houfe. 

And the villages and hamlets at a medium about 4 fouls per houfe. 

Accordingly the number of people computed ) r , 
from the laid amounts to f M*M °° f ° ub - 



As 



OF GREGORY KING. 41 1 

As by the following fcheme : 

Iuhabited Souls per Number 
Houfes. Houfe. of Souls,- 

The 97 pari {lies within the walls, 13,500 at 5.4 « 72,900 

The 16 parities without the walls, 32,500 at 4.6 - 149,500 
The 1 c out parifhes in Middle- 7 

fex and Surry J 35,°"° at 4. 4 - 154,000 

The 7 parifhes in the city and 7 n t ^ 

libit, of Weftmmfter J 2 ^ 000 at ±J_ ' I0 3- 2 °° 

So London and the Bills of Mor- 7 _ - 
~ > 105,000 at 4. 57 - 470,600 

tahry contain J /v 

The otlvr cities and market towns, 195,000 at 4. 3 - 838,500 

The villages and hamlets - 1,000,000 at 4. ^ 4,000,000 

In all 1,300,000 at 4. - 5,318,100 

But, considering that the omiffions, in the faid aiTeff- 
ments, may well be, 

In London and the Bills of Mortality, 10 per cent, or 47,960 fouls, 
In the cities and towns, 2 per cent, or 16,500 fouls, 

In the villages and hamlets 1 per cent, or 40,000 fouls, 

In all. 104,460 fouls, 

it follows, that the true number of people, dwelling 
in the'i,30o,ooo inhabited houfes, mould be 5,422,560 
fouls, 

According to the following Scheme : 

People Omifficns Number 
by the in the of People 
Affeffments. Afleflments. in all. 
The 97 Parifhes - 72,900 - 7,290 - 80,190 at almoft - 6 Heads por Houfe. 
The 16 Parifhes - 149,500 - 14,950 - 164,450 at above - 5 Heads per Houfe. 
The 15 Parifhes - 154,000 - 15,400 - 169,400 at above 4.8 Heads per Houfe. 
The 7 Parifhes - 103,200 - 10,320 - 1 13,520 at almoft - 4| Heads per Hon fe # 



The Eills of 7 , , , TT . „ c 

Mortality - \ 479> 6 °o - 47;9 6 ° - 5 2 7>5°° at above - 5 Heads per Houfe. 

^TTpwns 6 *- ^1 838,500 - 165500 - 835,000 at almoft 4. 4 Heads per Houfe. 
The Villages - 4,000,000 - 40,000 4,040,000 at - - 4.4 Heads per Houfe. 

Total - 5>3i3,ioo 104,460 5,422,560 at aboye 4. 17 Heads per Houfe. 



La% 9 



4iz 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



Laftly. — Whereas the number of tranfitory people* 
as Teamen, and foldiers, may be accounted 140,000, 
whereof near one-half, or 60,000, have no place in the 
faid affelTments ; and that the number of vagrants, 
viz. hawkers, pedlars, crate carriers, gipfies, thieves, 
and beggars, may be reckoned 30,000, whereof above 
one-half, or 20,000, may not be taken notice of, in the 
faid afTeffments, making in all 80,000 ; — 

It follows, that the whole number of the people of 
England is much about ------ 5,500,000 : 

Vi%. London and the Bills of Mortality, - $30,000 fouls; 
The other cities and market towns, - 870,000 fouls ; 
The villages and hamlets, - 4,100,000 fouls; 

In all 5,500,000 fouls. 



§ II. — THE Proportion of England, in Acres, 
and People, to France, and Holland, to 
Europe, and to the World in general; with 
a Calculation of the Number of People now ia 
the World, 



That England is in proportion 

In Acres. In Souls. 

To the Globe of the Earth and Seas, as - 1 to 3,300 - 1 to 13a 

To the known habitable world, as - - - 1 to 600 - 1 to no 

To Europe (including Mufcovy), as - - I to 43 - x to 18 

To France, as 1 to l\ - 1 1 to 30 

To Holland, as - - - 9 to a - 5 to 3 

To France, and Holland, together, as • - 2 to 3 J - 10 to 3^ 

That England having but 7 Acres of Land to each 

Head ; 

It is between 5 and 6 times better peopled than the known world in. 
general ^ 

£bov# 



OF GREGORY KING. 



Above twice, but not three times better peopled than Europe in 
general. 

About if times better peopled than Germany. 

Above 3 times better peopled than Ireland now is. 

Almoft 3 times better peopled than Scotland, or Spain. 

Somewhat better peopled than France, that kingdom having at Ieaft 
9 acres per head, as Italy likewife hath. 

About as well peopled as the Spanim Netherlands now are, or as the 
countries about the Rhine, viz. Alfatia, the Palatinate, Lorrain, &c 

And exceeded only, in populoufnefs, by Holland, and China, of all the 
nations in the world. 

That England hath 5 times the number of people, now in Scotland, 
and 6 times the number of people, now in Ireland. 

That Scotland, and Ireland, together are near equal to England in num- 
ber of acres, but not jth of England in number of people- 
That England, Scotland, and Ireland together, contain about 75 mil- 
lion of acres. 

Somewhat more than 7 millions of people. 

Somewhat above 10 acres to each head. 

About the 23d part of Europe in acres, and the 13th, and 14th, part of 

Europe in people. 
Somewhat more than half France in acres, and people. 
Nine times the bignefs of the 7 provinces of Holland in acres. 

And more than 3 times, but not near 4 times the people of thofe 
provinces. 

And, in proportion to France, and Holland together, as 10 to nineteen 
in acres, and as 10 to 22 in people. 

As to the Number of People Now in the World. 
We are to confider, 

1 ft, The Number of Acres in the habitable world. 
2d, The Proportion of People to the number of acres. 

As to the number of acres; — 

1. The fuperflcial content of the globe of earth and water, at 6gl miles 
to a degree of latitude, is 200 millions of fquare miles, or 128,000 
millions of acres, at 640 aeres to a fquare mile. 

2 t The land, difcovered and undifcovered, is now generally prefumed 
to be one moiety of the globe, or 64,000 millions of acres. 

3. The 



4-14 TKE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 

3. The known part of the world contains about 23,000 millions of 2cres, 

And the unknown part ----- 41.000 millions of acres. 

4. That of the known part of the world, - 20,000 millions of acres 

is habitable. 

And - -- -- -- -- - 3,000 millions uninha- 
bitable. 

X. That of the unknown part - - - - 25,000 millions of acres 

may be habitable. 
And - -- -- -- -- - 16,000 millions of acres 

uninhabitable. 

As to the Proportion of People to the Number of 
Acres > — 

I. That where there is more than 100 acres to each head, fuch coun- 
try is little better than defert. 

Z. That there is no country, befides Holland, and China, fo populous 
as to have but 4 acres per head. 

3. That England, having about 7 acres per head, France about 9, and 

Scotland and Ireland together about 18 or 20 acres per head, we 
cannot fuppofe Europe in general has above 15 or 20 acres per 
head. 

4. That Ada, being generally very rich, and populous, efpecially 

India, Perfia, and China (which laft is faid to have 10 millions of 
large families, containing 59 millions of men, befides women and 
children, whereby the number of fouls in China mould be at leaft 
230 millions for 1,000 millions of acres), we cannot fuppofe but 
Afia muft be near as well, if not better peopled pro rata than 
Europe. 

£. That, allowing Europe and Alia to be about 3 time? better peopled 
pro rata than Africa, and 6- times better peopled pro rata than 
America, it follows, that the number of people in the known part 
cf the world mould be about 600 millions of fouls ; and in the 
unknown part above 100 millions. — In all, 700 millions of fouls, 

Acres. Souls. 

Europe - - 1700 millions, at 17 acres per head - 100 millions, 

Afia - - - 6,800 millions, at 20 acres per head - 340 millions, 

Africa - - 6,ico millions, at 64 acres per head - 95 millions. 

America - - 8.400 millions, at 129 acres per head - 65 millions. 

In all - 23,000 millions, at 38 acres per head -600 million** 



OF GREGORY KIMG* 



4T5 



§ III. — THE feveral Dirbinctions of the People, as to 

Males and Females, Married and Unmarried, 
Children, Servants, and Sojourners. 

THAT the ; millions and a half of fouls, in England, including ths 
rranfitory people, and vagrants, appear, by the alTeiTments on mar- 
riages, births, and burials, to bear the following proportions, in relation 
to males, and females ; viz. 

Males. Females. Male?. Females. Both. 
In London and the Bills of Mortality 10 to 13 230,000 300,000 530,000 
In the other Cities and Market Towns 8 to 9 410,000 460,000 870,000 
In the Villages and Hamlets - - 100 to 99 2,060,000 2,040,000 4,100,000 

27 to 28 2,700,000 2,800,000 5,500,000 

That, as to other difHncYions, they appear, by the faid afleffments, to 
bear thefe proportions : — 



Hufinnds and Wives, - at above 34* per Cent. 
Widowers, - - - at above 1* per Cent. 
Widows, - - - - at almoft c\ per Cent. 
Children, - - - - at above 45 per Cent. 
Servants, - - - - at almoft rof perCttjt. 
Sojourners and Tingle Perfons - 4 p«rCent. 



People. 
1,900,000 
90,000 

240,000 
2,500,000 

560,000 

210,000 



Males. Females. 

950,000 950,000 
90,000 

- - - - 240,000 

1,300,000 1,200,000 

260,000 300,000 

100,000 110,003 



5,500,000 2,700,000 2,Soo,ooo 



And, that the different proportions, in each of 
tv. ecn London, the great towns, and the villages, 
pear, we have exhibited the following fcheme : — 



London and Bills 
of Mortality. 

Hufbnn(!s and 1 ~ , 

Wives- - J 17 I*r CL 196,100 

Widowers - - 2perCt. 10,600 

Widows - - 7perCt. 37,100 

Children - - 33 perCt. 174,900 

Servants - - i3perCt. 68,900 



Sojourners, 



perCt. 



42,400 



The other Cities 
and great Towns. 

36 per Ct. 313,200 

2 per Ct. 17,400 
6 per Ct. 52,200 
4operCt. 348,000 
uperCt. 95^700 
5perCt-. 43'5°° 



the faid articles, be- 
may the better ap- 

The Villages and 
Hamlets. 

34 per Ct. 1,394,00© 

\\ per Ct. 61,500 
4! per Ct. 184,500 
47 perCt. 1,927,000 
10 perCt. 410,000 
3 perCt. 123,00© 



100 - - 530,000 IOC 



>70 ; ooo-ioo - 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



§ IV. — The feveral Ages of the People, 

That the Yearly Births of the Kingdom being 
190,000 Souls j 

In all. Males. Females, 

Thofe under 1 year old - - are 170,000 - 90,000 - 80,000 

Thofe under 5 years old - are 820,000 - 415,000 - 405,000 

Thofe under 10 years old - are 1,520,000 - 764,000 - 756,000 

Thofe under 16 years old - are 2,240,000 1,122,000 - 1,118^000 

Thofe above 16 years old - are 3,260,000 1,578,000 - 1,682,000 
Thofe above 21 years old - are 2,700,000 1,300,000 1.400,000 
Thofe above 25 years old - are 2.400,000 1,150,000 1,250,000 
Thofe above 60 years old - are 600,000 - 270,000 - 330,000 
So that the number of communicants is, in all - - 3,260.000 fouls. 
-And the number of fighting men, between 16 and 60, is 1,310,000. 

That the batchelors - - - are about 28 per cent, of the whole. 
Whereof thofe under 25 years - - - - are 25! per cent* 
And thofe above 25 years - - - - - - are i\ per cent* 

That the maidens - - - - are about 2 8| per cent, of the whole. 
Whereof thofe under 25 years ----- are 26f per cent, 
And thofe above 25 years - -- -- -- are 2 percent^ 

That the males and females, in the kingdom in general, are aged, one 
with another, 27^ years. 

That in the kingdom in general, there is near as many people living 
under 20 years of age, as there is above 20. Whereof one half of the 
males is under 19 years, and one half of the females is under 21 years. 

At a Medium, 

That the Hufbands are aged 43 Years a piece, which, at 17! per Cent, makes 742 
The Wives - - - 40 Years a piece - - - \n\ ----- 69a 
The Widowers - - 56 Years a piece - -- if---- - 84 
The Widows - - 60 Years a piece -- - 4§ - - - - 27a 
The Children - - 12 Years a piece - -- 45-.-- - 549 

The Servants - - 27 Years a piece ■ - - - io| 284 

The Sojourners - - 55 Years a piece - - - 4---- - 143 

At a Medium - 27^ 100 Perfons - - z,75<a 



OF GREGORY KING, 



417 



§ V.-— THE Origination, and Increase, of the 
People of England, 

THAT, if the world was re-peopled, from 8 perfons, after the Flood, 
and that England was peopled originally by two perfons, or by a num- 
ber not exceeding 20 perfons, fuch firft peopleing was about the year 
of the world 2200, or 2300, viz. 600 years after the Flood ; and 16 
or 1 700 years, before the birth of our Saviour ; at which time the world 
had between one and two millions of people only. 

But, if the firft peopleing of England was by a colony or colonies, 
confiftingof a number between 100 and ioco people (which is moft 
probable), fuch colony or colonies were brought over between the year 
of the world 2400 and 2600 ; viz. about 8 or 900 years, after the 
Flood, and 14 or 1500 years, before the birth of our Saviour; at which 
time the world had about a million of families, and 4 or 5 millions of 
people. 

From which hypothefis it will follow by an orderly feries of 
increafe;— • 

That, when the Romans invaded England, 53 years, before our 
Saviour's time, the kingdom had about 360,000 people ; and, at our 
Saviour's birth, about 400,000 people ; 

That, at the Norman Conqueft, Anno Chrifli 1066, the kingdom 
had. fomewhat above two millions of people ; 

That, Anno 1260, or about 200 years after the Norman Conqueft, 
the kingdom had 2,750,000 people, or half the prefent number ; fo 
that the people of England have doubled in about 435 years laftpaft ; 

That in probability the next doubling of the people of England will 
be in about 600 years to come, or by the year of our Lord 2300 ; ai 
which time it will have eleven millions of people ; but, that the next 
doubling after that, will not be (in all probability) in lefs than is 
or 1300 years more, or by the year of our Lord 3500 or 3600; at 
which time the kingdom will have 22 millions of foul?, or four times 
its prefent number, in cafe the world mould laft fo lon<r, 

E e Now, 



4*8 THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



Now, the kingdom containing but 39 millions of acres, it will then 
have lefs than two acres to each head, and consequently will not then 
be capable of any further increafe. 1 

That the increafe of the kingdom, for every 100 years of the lad 
preceding term of doubling, and the fubfequent term of doubling, has 
been, and in all probability will be, according to the following fcheme : 



Anno 


Number 


Increafe every 


Clnifti. 


of People. 


100 Years. 


13OO - ■ 


■ - 2,86o,OCO - 


- - 440,000 


IAOO - - 


■ - 3,300,000 - 


- - 540.OOO 


I COO - - 


■ - 3,840,000 - 


- - 780,000 


1600 - - 


■ ~ 4,620,000 - 


- - 880,000 


I TOO - - 


• - 5,500,000 - 


- - 920,000 


1800 - • 


- - 6,420,000 - 


- - 930,000 


1900 - - 


' " 7,350,000 - 


- - 930,000 


2000 - ■ 


• - 8,280,000 - 


- - 925,000 


2IOO - - 


■ - 9,205,000 - 


- - 910,000 


2200 - - 


- 10,115,000 - 


- - 885,000 


23OO - - 


■ - 11,000,000 - 





Whereby it appears, that the increafe of the kingdom being 880,000 
people, in the iaft 100 years, and 920,000 in the next fucceeding 100 
years, the annual increafe at this time is about 9,000 fouls per annum. 

But, whereas the yearly burials of the kingdom are about 1 in 32, 
or 170,000 fouls; and the yearly births 1 in 28, or 190,000 fouls, 
Whereby the yearly increafe ftiould be - - 20,000 fouls ;— • 

It is to be noted, 

1. That the allowance for plap-ues and great mor- 7 

talkies comes to, at a medium - ~ - j 4>ooo per ann. 

2. Foreign or civil wars, at a medium, - - - 3,500 per ann. 

3. The fea, conftantly employing about 40,000, 7 

precipitates the death of about - - - J" 2,500 per ann. 

4. The plantations (over and above the acceffion 7 

of foreigners) tarry away $ 1,000 per ann. 

In ail 1 1,000 per ann. 
Whereby the neat annual increafe is but - - - 9,000 

In all 20,000. 



That of thefe 20,000 fouls, which would be the annual increafe of 
the kingdom by procreation^ were it not for the fore-mentioned 
abatements. 

The 



OF GREGORY KING. 



419 



The country increafes annually by procreation - 20,000 fouls; 
The cities and towus (exclufive of London,) ° 2,000 fouls; 
But London and the Bills of Mortality decreafe annually 2,000 fouls. 

So that London requires a fupply of 2,000 annually to keep it from 
decreafing, belidesa further fupply of about 3,000 per annum for its 
increafeat this time: In all 5,000, or a moiety of the kingdom's neat 
increafe. 

That, allowing London and the Bills of Mortality to have contained^ 
in Julius Caefar's time, between 4 and 5.000 fouls ; and at the Norman 
Conqueft about 24,000 fouls, and at this time about 530,000 fouls ; 
the increafe thereof hath been, and in all probability will be, ac- 
cording to the following fcheme of the duplication of its inhabitants.. 







Number of Years in 


Number 


Anno 


which the People of 


of Souls. 


Chrifti. 


London have doubled. 


8,280 - - 


330 - 




16,560 - - 


- - 830 - 


- ~ - 500 


33,120 - - 
66,240 - - 


- - 1,230 - 


- - - 40O 


- - 1,500 - 


- - - 270 


132,480 - - 


- - i>5 8 $ - 


8 5 


264,960 - - 


- - 1,621 


. - - 36 


529,920 - - 


- - 1,695 - 


" " - 74 


1,059,840 -. - 


1,900 - 


- - - 205 


2,119,680 - - 


- - 3,000 - 


- - - 1,100 



Whereby it appears, that London has doubled 3 timer* 
fince the year 1 500 ; fo that it is now 8 times as big as 
it was then ; and the prefent yearly increafe of London 
and the Bills of Mortality, would have been (had it 
not been for the prefent war) 3000 fouls per annum. 

But in relation to the jg^efent war, we are to confider ? 

That if the nation do at this time contain - - - 5,500,000 fouls, 
It did contain, anno 1688, about 50,000 more, or 5,550,000 foul?. 

For that, inftead of a decreafe of 1 1,000 per annum, 
out of the yearly increafe by procreation of 
20,000; the faid decreafe has been at a me- 
dium 19,000 per annum : In all for 7 years 

And that,inftead of an increafe of 20,000 per annum 
by procreation, the faid increafe has been at a 
medium but 12,000 per annum : In all for 
7 years --.->_.---_-.- 

So that the kingdom has decreafed, in 7 years - - 49,000. 



133,000 




E e% 



4-20 THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 

Observations about Procreation, 
accounting the People to be 5,500,000 Souls* 

By the fore-mentioned aiTefiments on marriages, births, and burials, 
and the collector's returns thereupon, and by the parifli regifters ; it 
appears, that the proportion of marriages, births, and burials, is, ac- 
cording to the following fcheme, 

People. Annual Marriages: 

. cso.coo London and Bills? r T i 

5j ' 5- 1 in 106. In all c,ooo; producing 4.Child R eacn. 

of Mortality - \ 3 ' .* & ~ 

870,000 The Cities and 7 o T n c o • r^- -un u 

Market Towns S 1 m 12 ' ; P roaucin S 4- 5 Cmldn e -- ch - 

4,100,000 The Villages ?nd 7 T , . o^l-up l 

Hamlets > i in 141. In all 29,200; producing 4. 8 Child" each. 

5,500,000 - - - - - 1 in 134 - 41, ceo - - -4.64 

Annual Births. Annual Burials. 

London and Bills of Mortality 1 in 26^. In all 20,000 1 in 14. 1. In all 22,000 

The Cities and Market Towns 1 in 2S|. In all 30,600 1 in 30. 4. In all 28.600 

The Villages and Hamlets - 1 in 29. 4. In all 139,400 1 in 34. 4. In all 119,400 

1 in 28. 85 190,000 1 in 32. 35 170,000 

Whence We may obferve, that in iooo co-exifling 

perfons, 

There are 71 or 72 marriages in the country, producing 34. 3 children, 
78 marriages in towns, - producing 35. 2 children. 

94 marriages in London - producing 37. 6 children. 

Whereby it follows, 

1. That though each marriage in London produceth fewer people 
than in the country, yet London, in general, having a greater propor- 
tion of breeders, is more prolific than the other great towns; and the 
great towns are more prolific than the country. 

2. That if the people of London, of all ages, were as long lived 
as thofe in the country, London would increafe in people much fatter, 
pro rata than the country. 

3. That the reafon why each marriage in London produces fewer 
children than the country marriages, feems to be, 

1. From the more frequent fornications and adulteries. 

2. From a greater luxury and intemperance ; 

3. From a greater intenfenefs to bufinefs: 

4. From the unheakhfulnefs of the coal fmoke ; 

5. From a greater inequality of age bet ween the hufbands and wives. 



And 



OF GREGORY KINO, 



421 



And, that it may appear what the effect is, of the ine- 
quality of ages in Married Couples, I have collected the 
following Obfervations, from a certain great town * in 
the middle of the kingdom, confirming of near 3000 
fouls, 

1. That there is no child of any parents, now living, in the faid 
town, where the wife is 17 years older than the hufband, or the huf- 
band 19 years older than the wife. 

2. That the whole number of children being 1,060, the number of 
thofe where the mother was older than the father is 228, and where the 
hufband was older than the wife, 832. 

3. That one moiety of the whole number of children, in the faid 
town, is the product of fuch parents, where the hufband is 4 or more 
years older than the wife. 

4. That the greater number of children, with refpeft to any one 
number of years of difference in age between the hufband and wife, is, 
where the hufband is two years older than the wife, the product where- 
of is 147, or a 7th part of the whole. 

5. That an equality in age, in the hufband and wife, is not fo prolific 
as an inequality, provided that inequality exceed not a fuperiority of 
4 years in the wife, or 10 years in the hufband; for the equality of 
years produced but 23 children ; whereas one year's inequality in the 
age of the parents, either way, produced above 60. 

6. That of the faid 1,060 children, in the whole town, near three 
quarters of them are the product of coalitions from 2 years fuperiority 
of age in the wife inclufive, to 6 years fuperiority of age in the huf- 
band, inclufive. 

. 7. That the highefl powers in men and women, for procreation, is, 
in that town, at 3 1 years of age in the hufband, and 2 8 in the wife ; the 
produce of the former being 86 children, and of the latter 83. 

* Litchfield. 



E e 3 

1 



422 THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 

8. That one moiety of the faid i, 060 children are the product, of 
fathers from 28 to 35 years of age inclufive, and of mothers from 25, 
to 32. 

Whence it follows, that a juft equality, or too 
great an inequality of age, in marriages, are pre- 
judicial to the increafe of mankind ; and that 
the early or late marriages, in men and .women, 
do tend little to the propagation of the human 
race. 

Laftly, from a confederation of the male and female children in the 
faid town., and the ages of their parents, at the time, when fuch chil- 
dren were refpectively conceived, a fcheme may be eftablimed, of the 
powers of generation, and the inclination of the feveral coalitions to- 
wards the producing the one or the other fex, according to the fupe-* 
riority of power in either fe#, at the time of fuch refpecti'/e coalition?. 



OF GREGOR Y KING. 



4^3 



§ VI. — THE Annual Income, and Expence, of the 
Nation, as it flood Anno 1688. 

THAT the yearly Income of the Nation, ] r in . ' V |. 
Anno 168SV w« - J £43.Soo,ooo Sterling. 

That the yearly expence of the nation was - 41,700,000 
That then the yearly increafe of wealth was - i,8oo,ooo„ 

That the yearly Rent of the lands was about 10,000,000 
Of the burgage, or houfeing, about - - - - 2,000,000 
Of all other hereditaments, sbout - - - - 1,000,000 

In all 13,000,000. 
That the yearly Produce of trade, aits, and 7 

1 u 1 € 30,COO,000 

labours, was about - -- -- - \ ■> -> 

In all 43,500,000. 

That the number of inhabited houfes being about 1,300,000, 
the number of families about ----- 1,360,000, 
and the number of people about - - - - 5,500,000; — 

The People anfwer to 4! per houfe, and 4 per family. 
That the Yearly Eftates, or Income, of the feveral families, anfwer, 

In common, to about - - - - £.32. o. o. per Family. 

And about ------- 7. 18. o. per Head. 

That the yearly expence of the nation is about 7. 11. 4. per Head. 
And the yearly inereale about - - - - o. 6 8. per Head. 

That the whole value of the kingdom, in 7 r r <? 1- 

1 • , b > / .6sO,ooo,oco Sterling, 

general, is about j 3 

Viz.. The 13 millions of yearly rents, at about 7 n ,. 

18 years purchafe - ------ } ^34,000,000 Sterling. 

The 30 millions and a half per annum, by 
trade, arts, labours, &c. at near 1 1 years 
purchafe, (w hich, being the value of the $.330,000,000 
5 millions and a half of people, at £. 60 
per kead), comes to 

The flock of the kingdom, in money, plate, / Q 

jewels, and houfehold goods, about - $ 28 > 000 ' 000 " 

The ftock of the kingdom, in (hipping, forts, " 
ammunition, ftores, foreign or home goods, 

wares, and provifions for trade abroad, or V 33,000,000. 
confumption at home, and all inftruments 
and materials relating thereto - - - 

The live ftock of the kingdom, in cattle, 7 

beairs, fowl, &c. - - - ~ - - = J 25,000,000. 

In all £. 6 50,000,000 Sterling. 
Ee 4 A SCHEME 



424 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 
A SCHEME of the Income, and Expence, of the feveral 



Number 
of 

Families. 



160 

26 
800 
600 
3,000 

12,000 
5,000 
5,000 
2,000 
8,000 
IOjOOO 
2,O0O 
8,000 
40,000 
I4O.OOO 
3 50,000 
l6,000 
40,000 
60, COO 
5,000 
4,000 



511,586 Families. 



50,000 
364,000 
400,000 

35,000 



849,000 Families. 



849,000 



511,586 Families; 
849,000 Families; 



1,360,586 Families. 



RANKS, DEGREES, TITLES, 

AND 

QUALIFICATIONS. 



Temporal Lords - - - 
Spiritual Lords - 
Baronets - - - - - 
Knights - 
Efuuires - - - - - 
Gentlemen - 
Perfons in Offices - 
Perfons in Offices - 
Merchants and Traders by Sea - 
Merchants and Traders by Land - 
Perfons in the Law - 
Clergymen - - - - 
Clergymen - 
Freeholders - 
Freeholders - - - - 
Farmers - 

Perfons in Sciences and Liberal Arts 
Shop-keepers and Tradefmen 
Artizans and Handicrafts - 
Naval Officers - 
Military Officers - 



Common Seamen - 
Labouring People and Out Servants 
Cottagers and Paupers 
Common Soldiers r 



Vagrants - 



So the GENERAL 

Increafmg the Wealth of the Kingdom 
Decreasing the Wealth of the Kingdom 
Nett Totals 



OF GREGORY KING. 
FAMILIES of England i calculated for the Year 1688. 



Numbsr 

of 

Perfons. 


Yearly 
Income 

per 
Family. 


Total of the 
Eftates or 
Income. 

448,000 

33,800 
704,000 
390,000 
1,200,000 
2,880,000 

1,200,000 
600,000 
8oO,00O 

1,600,000 

1,400,000 
120,000 
360,000 

3,360,000 

7,000,000 
6,600,000 

960,000 
1,800,000 
2,400,000 

400,00c; 

240,000 


Yearly 
Income 
per Head. 


Expence 
per 
Head. 


Increafe 

per 
Head. 


Total In- 
creafe per 
Annum. 


6,400 
520 
12,800 
7,800 
30,000 
96,000 
40,000 
30,000 
16,000 
48,000 
70,000 
12,000 
40,000 
280,000 
700,000 
750,000 
80,000 
180,000 
240,000 
20,000 
16,000 


2,800 — 
1,300 — 

28o — 
650 — 
450 — 
280 — 
240 — 
120 — 
400 — 
200 — 
140 — 
60 — 

84 — 
50 — 

44 — 

60 — 

45 ~ 
40 — 
80 — 
60 — 


£. 

70 — 
65 - 
55 — 
50 — 

45 — 

35 — 
30 — 
20 — 
50 — 

33 — 
20 — 
1 — 

9 — 
12 — 
10 — 

8 15 
12 — 
10 — 
10 — 
20 — 
15 — 


£. s. J. 
60 

5 i 

46 

42 -r — 

32 IO — 

27 

l8 

40 

28 

8 1 ■— 

9 10 — 

8 10 — 
11 10 — 

9 10 — 
9 10 — 

18 

14 — — 


£. s. J. 
10 — — 
10 — — 

2 10 — 

10 — — 

3 «— • — 

— 10 — 

1 10 — - 

— 10 — - 

— 10 — 


£• 

64,000 
5,200 
51,000 
31,200 
90,000 
240,000 
120,000 
60,000 
160,000 
240,000 
210,000 
12,000 
40 , 000 
280,000 
350,000 
187,000 
40,000 
90,000 
120,000 
40,000 
16,000 


2,675,520 


67 - 


34,495,800 


12 18 


12 — — 


— iS — 


2,447,100 


150,000 
1,275,000 
1,300,000 
70,000 


20 — 

15 — 
6 10 
14 — 


1,000,000 
5,460,000 
2,000,000 
490,000 


7 — 
4 10 
2 — 
7 — 


7 10 — 
4 12 — 
2 5 — 
7 10 — 


— 10 — 

— 10 — 


Decreafe* 

75,000 
127,500 
325,000 

35,000 


2,795,000 
30,000 


10 10 


8,950,000 
60,000 


3 5 
2 


3 9 — 




562,000 
60,000 


2,825,000 


10 10 


9,010,000 


3 3 


3 7 6 


—.46 


622,000 


ACCOUNT 
2,675,520 
2,825,000 


is: 

67 - 
JO 10 


34,495,800 
9,010,000 


la 18 

3 3 


12 — — 

3 7 6 


— 18 — 

- 4 6 


2j447jOO0 
622,000 


5,500,520 


32 — 


43,505,800 


7 18 


7 11 3 


- 6 9 


1,825,100 

















4^6 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



A Calculation of the Quantity of Silver, and 
Gold, in England, France, and Holland, in Europe, 
and in the World in general, and of the Increafe, and 
Confumption, thereof, Anno 1688. 

This Calculation is built upon this Hypothecs: 

1. That the fiiver and gold in Europe, at the difcovery of the Wed 
Indies, near 200 years ago, was but 45 millions Sterling ; but is new 
about $ times as much, or 225 millions. 

2. That there have been 520 millions of fiiver and gold imported 
into Europe from America, within thefe laft 180 years: befides what 
has been produced in Europe, or imported into it from Alia, and 
Africa. 

Whereby the Account of Europe Hands thus: 

The exifting (lock of fiiver and gold in Europe, 1 Millions Stef 
180 years ago ------ - j 

Produced in Europe within thefe laft 180 years 8 Millions. 

Imported into Europe from Afiain manufactures 2 Millions. 

from Africa, in gold duft, 7 MilB 
&c. ----- y 

from America, in fpecie - 520 Millions. 

In all 590 Millions. 



Whereof 545 millions having been produced in Europe, or im- 
ported into it, within thefe laft 180 years ; viz. 

In the firft eighty years - 205 millions, or £.2, $60,000 per annum, 
And in the laft hundred years 340 millions, or 3,400,000 per annum ; 

We may conclude, that the exifting ftock of fiiver and gold in Europe ; 

Being, 200 years ago 45 millions, 

Was, - 100 years ago ----- 100 millions, 
And is at prefent - - - - = - 225 millions: 

It has increafed— 
In the firft 80 years - $5 millions, or £. 700,000 per annum ; 
In the laft 100 years 125 millions, or 1,250,000 per annum ; 

180 millions : 

So 



OF GREGORY KING, 



4*1 



So this laft ioo years Europe has— 
Froduced and imported 340 millions, or £.3,400,000 per annum. 
Increafed - - - - 125 million;, or 1,250,000 per annum. 



Confumed and exported 215 millions, or 2,150,000 per annum. 

Now, before we come to the particulars how thefe 
215 millions, in gold and lilver, have been confumed in 
Europe, within this laft 100 years., we mall confider in 
what the 225 millions, which we eftimate to be the pre- 
fent flock of Europe, in gold and filver, and things 
made thereof, do confifl ; viz. 





In Europe 
in general. 


In England. 


In France. 


In Holland. 


Coined Silver ~ - 


no Millions 


£.8,500,000 


£, 18,000,000 


£* 7,000,000 


Coined Gold - - - 


28 Millions 


3,000,000 


5,000,000 


2,000,000 


Bullion - - - - 


8 Millions 


1,000,000 


1,500,000 


1,500,000 


Lay Plate - - - - 


46 Millions 


4,000,000 


9,000,000 


1,500,000 


Church Plate - - - 


20 Millions 


200,000 


3,000,000 


100,000 


Medals and Rarities - 


5 Millions 


200,000 


900,000 


300,000 


Gold & Silver-Thread" 










and Wire, andThings j 


- 6 Millions 


400,000 


1,400,000 


100,000 


made thereof in wear , 






D° in Stock for Trade 


2 Millions 


200,000 


600,000 


300,000 




225 Millions 


17,500,000 


39,400,000 


12,800,000 



Whereupon we have eftimated the confumption of the 3 1 £ millions 
of Gold and Silver, in Europe, within the laft 100 years, which is 
j£. 3, 150,000 perannum, asfolloweth: — 



In Europe 



In 



In 



In 



in general. England. France. Holland. 



By the wear of Silver Coin - a 1000th Part of the no Mill 3 1 10,000 

The wear of Gold Coin - a 1 oooth Part of - - 28 Mill 3 28,000 

Wafte in Coinage - - - a 2000th Part of - - - 2 Mill s 10,000 

Wafte in working of Plate a 150th Part of • 3 Mill 9 20,000 

The wear of Wrought Plate a 800th Part of - - 66 Mill 3 82,000 

The wear of things made 1 

of Gold & Silver Thread S-a - 10th Part of ■ 

or Wire - ----- J 

Leaf & Shell Gold & Silver The whole of £.50,000 - - 50,000 

Loft in Cafualties at Sea - a - 70th Part of 2 Mill s 30,000 

Loft by Fires. Inunda- 7 . -u -o - c n/riic 

1 1 1 > a 4000th Part of - - 200 Mill 3 c,ooo 
tions, &C. - a - - 3 T 

Liquid Gold and Silver - The Half of £.10,000 - - - 5>ooo 

140 Mills 20,000 



8,500 
3,000 
1,250 
1,600 
4,000 



18,000 
5,000 
2,500 
4,000 
12,000 



7,000 
2,000 
800 
700 
1,600 



6 Mill s 600,000 60,000 i8o,oeo 20,0^0 



Buried & loft, not known 7 .., -n t e 

how - - - - . - 5 a 7° 00th Part of " 

Exported out of Europe, 7 
by Trade, &c. - - - £ " * * " " " 



6,000 
7,000 

2,000 

500 

2,000 



20,000 
10,000 

2,000 

1,500 

5,000 



3,000 
10,000 

500 

200 

500 



- -1,190,000 240,000 160,000 300000 



In all - 



2,150,000 3345850 420,000 346,360 
Whereby 



428 THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 

Whereby it appears, that the two principal articles, by which the 
gold and filver of Europe is confumed, are, in things made of gold and 
filver thread and wire, and in coin, or bullion exported in trade; thefe 
two articles alone being 7 parts in 8 of the whole confumption of the 
gold and filver of Europe. 

As to the world in general, I compute the exifting frock, 180 years 
ago, at 500 millions. 

The produce this laft 180 years, 1,200 millions : The confumption, 
850 millions. 

The increafe, 350 millions, which, added to the 500 millions, 
ynake the prefent ftock 850 millions. 



§ VII.— THE feveral forts of Land in England, with 
the Value, and Product thereof. 

England and Wales contain 39 Millions of Acres \ 

viz. 

Acres. Value per Acre. Rent. 

Arable land - - - - 1 1,000,000 at 5s. iod. per acre £3,200,000 

Pafture and meadow - 10,000,000 at 9s. - - per acre 4,500,000 

Woods and coppices - 3,000,000 at cs. - - per acre 750,000 

Forefts, parks, and com- 7 

mons e 3,000,000 at 3s. 6d. per acre 550,000 

Heaths, moors, moun- 1 

1 . t j f 10,000,000 at is. - - per acre 500,000 
tains, and barren lanes J ' ^ 3 ' 

Houfes, and homefteads,*! .m, 1 , 

gardens, and orchards,! C The land - - 450,000 

churches, and church- f ^o 00 * 000 ) 

yards J {, * " e buildings 2,000,000 

Rivers, lakes, meres, and 7 

ponds . j SoOjOoo at 2s. - - per acre - 50,000 

Roads, wavs, and wafte 7 

lands . f 5oo,ooo at - - - per acre. 



In all 39,000,000 at 6s. 2d. per acre 12,000,000 



So 



OF GREGORY KING. 



True Yearly Value as rated Producs 

. Value. to the 4s. Tax. of the 4s. Tax, 

So the year! 
value of the 

The houfes and buildings 2 millions - 1,500,000 - 300,000 

All other hereditaments - I million - 500,000 - 100,000 



[y rents, or 7 
e land is 3 



10 millions - 6,500,000 - 1,300,000 



Perfonal eftates, &c. 



million 



550,000 



100,000 



In all 14 millions - 9,050,000 - 1,800,000 

So that, whereas the tax of 4s. per pound produces but ^.1,800,000 
It fhould produce (if duly afiefled) ------ 2,800,000. 

The Produce of the Arable Land, I thus eftimate : 



OfBulhels. PerBufhel. Value. 
Wheat - - 12 Millions, at 3s. 6d. - ^£.2, 100,000 



Rye 8 Millions, at 2s. 6d. 

Barley - - 25 Millions, at 2s. - - 
Oats - - - 16 Millions, at is. 6d. 
Peas - - - 7 Millions, at 2s. 6d. 
Beans — 4 Millions, at 2s. 6d. 
Vetches, &c. 1 Million, at 2s. - - 



Millions, at 2s. 3d. 



i,coo,oco 
2,500,000 
1,200,000 
875,000'' 
500,000 
100,000 

8,275,000 



" This is the only nett Produce 
exclufive of the Seed Corn, 
which in fome Sorts of 
Grain, being nearly a 4th of. 
the Produce in others,a 5th, 
may in general be reckon- 
ed, about 17 Millions of 
Bufhels more, which make 
the whole Produce to be 90 
Millions of Bufhels, which 
at 2S. 3d. perBufhel in com- 
mon are full 10 Mills SteriS. 



Thefe 73 millions of bufhels of grain are the product of 10 of the 
1 1 millions of acres of arable land ; the other million of acres produc- 
ing hemp, flax, woad, faffron, dying weeds, &c. ; the value of the 
product whereof is about 1 million fteriing. So that the rent of the 
corn land being under ^.3,000,000 per annum, and the nett produce 
thereof above 8 millions, the produce is near treble to the rent. 

Now the Rents or Yrarly Value of the pafture and meadow, 
woods, coppices, forefts, parks, commons, heaths, and moors, moun- 
tains and barren land, being - -' - - 6,250,000 fteriing 

The produce can fcarce make above two rents, or 12 millions; 
there being little charge either in cultivating the land, or gathering 
the product thereof, comparatively to what there is in the arable land* 

This produce is principally in and by cattle, hay, timber, and 
firewood. 

The produce by cattle, in butter, cheefe,and milk, is about £. 2,500,000 
The value of the wool yearly morn is about - - - - 2,000,000 
The value of the horfes yearly bred is about - - - - 250,000 
The value of the flefli yearly fpent as food is about - 3,350,000 
The value of the tallow and hides of the cattle - - - 600,000 
The value of hay yearly confumed by horfes about - 1,300,000 
The hay yearly confumed by other cattle, - - - - i 5 ooo^oco 
The timber yearly felled for building and fuch ufes, - - 500,000 
The wood yearly fpent in firing and petty ufes, - - , 500,000 



So the produce (including one million fteriing in hay 7 



fpent by cattle) is in all, 



5 



12,000, coo 



An 



43° 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



An Estimate of the Live Stock of the Nation, 



Yearly Breed 
or Increafe. 

Beeves, fterks, and calves 800,000 
Sheep and lambs - 3,200,000 
Swine and pigs - - 1,300,000 
Deer and fawns - - 20,000 
Goats and kids - - 10,000 
Hares and leverets - 12,000 
Rabbits and conies - 2,000,000 



The whole Value of each Value of 
Stock, befides the Skin, the Stock 

4,500,000^.2 O O 

11,000,000 o 80 

2,000,000 O 16 O 

100,000 2 00 

50,000 O 10 O 

24,000 o- i 6 

1,000,000 o 05 



g,ooo,ooo 
4,400,000 
1,600,000 
200,000 
25,000 
1,800 
21,100 



7,342,000 18,074,000 

So the value of the Live Stock for food is - 
The vaine of the horfes (and afles) being 1,200,00c 

at £.z is. each, breeding annually 100, ooo, 
The value of the pelts and Ikins (over and above the 7 

wool) - - - - - -- --- - j 



•s'} 



The value of the wool yearly Ihorn (or pelted) ^ 
10,000,000 fleeces, 2,000,000 lbs. at 4s. per fleece, £ 
or 28s. per tod at i2d. per lb. - - - 

The value of the whole ftock. of tame fowl, as geele 
turkies, hens, ducks, pigeons, fwans, and pea 
cocks - -- -- -- -- - 

The whole ftock of wild fowl about 



i 



£• 15,247*900 

£. 15,247,900 
3,000,000 

2,400,000 

20,647,900 

2,000,000 



In all 



460,000 

12,000 
23,1 19,900 



An ESTIMATE of the Yearly Confumption of FLESH in the Nation: 

Weight of the 

Yearly 
Coniumption. 

208,000,000 lbs«\\ 

I02;4C0,0CO 

59,800,000 
1,400,000 
360,000 
30,000 
1,700,000 





Number 
of the 
Yearly Con- 
fumption. 


Weight of 
each 
Carcaie. 


Price of a 
lb. weight. 


Price Value of the 
of each Yearly 
Beaft. Confumption. 


ffeeves and Calves 


800,000 260 lbs. w £ 


i§d. 






£.1,520,000 


Sheep ami Lambs 


- 3,200,000 


32 - - 


2|d. 


«, 6 




960,000 


Sv/ine and Pigs - 


- 1,300,000 


46 - - 


3d- 


— 11 


6 


750,000 


Deer and Fawns - 


20,000 


70 - - 


6A 






35,000 


Goats aad K ids - 


10,000 


36 - - 


a£d. 


— 7 


6 


4,000 


Hares and Leverets 


12,000 




7 d. 




6 


900 


Rabits and Conies 


- 2,C0O,OOO 


* 7. 


6d. 




5 


* 42,100 




7,342,000 













Tame Fowl 
Wild Fowl 



at 6d. per lb. - 
at 1 2d, per lb, - 

In all - - 



600,000 
20,000 



373,690,000 
24,000,000 
400,000 



- £.3,922,000 398,090,000 lbs.w 



V 



Which for $f Millions of Peeople is— 

. 3d. per Annum. f 72 lbs. 

. In Weight < _ 

- |d. per Deim, each. L lr 



6 oZ. 
1 

- 3-5 



per Annum, 
per Dien. 



OF GREGORY KING, 



But, for 2,700,000 perfons, being the number of thofe, who eat 
Flefa conftantly, the forefaid proportion of 398,090,000 pounds weight 
of fled yearly ipent as food, comes to 6 -| ounces per head per diem, 
and 147 \ pound weight per head per annum, befides Dutch beef, 
Weitphalia bacon, &c. 

The remaining 2,800,000 perfons not eating of flefii being thefe: 
200,000 infants under 13 months old, 

40.000 fick perfons, 
260,000 part of 700,000 perfons, who feed on filh at leaf! 2 days 
in 7. 

1,280,000 part of 1,760,000 perfons contained in 440,000 fami- 
lies, who, by reafon of their poverty, do no't contribute 
to church or poor, and confequently eat not flefh 
above 2 days in 7. 

1,020,000 part of 1,200,000 perfons contained in 440,000 fami- 
lies who receive alms, and coniequently eat not flefh 
above once a week. 

2,800,000. 



§ VIIL — THE Beer, Ale, and Malt annually con- 
fumed in Engl and 5 and the Revenue of Ex< 
cife arifing thereby. 



THAT the Arable Land of England is near - - - - n,ooo,ooo of Acresj 
Of which the Barley Land is almoft a third, or - 3,200,000 Acresj 

Whereof fomewhat above two thirds being yearly fowed, 1 

and the other third fallow, the Land yearly fowed with > 2,200,000 Acresj 
Barley is about - - - - - - - - - - - j 

Which, at 1 5 bufhels per Acre, is 33 millions of bufhels of Barley, 

f'jz.wm. -Malted and brewed into Ale and Beer zif millions of bufhels. 

Malted and made into Spirits, and") r l „ . . .„„ .. ,' 

for other ufes - - - - - -J 1 miU of bufhels. 22f mill" malted, 

Seed Corn, at near 4 bufhels per Acre 8| mil i n of bufhels. 

Barley for bread, feeding of poultry, &c. x\ mill n ofbufh. \o\ mili n unmaltcd 

In all - - - 33 millions of bufhels. 

Which 22I millions of bufhels of malted J 24 mill n S of bumels of malt, 
Barley may well produce - - - - - j 

That the Malt brewed into Ale and Beer is 23 millions of bufhels. 
Whereof the Malt brewed for fale is much ? L,/u«i«, 
about J i 3 ,5°°,ooo bufhels. 

And for private ufe ------ - 9,500,000 bufhels, 

And 



43 2 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



And that the difference between'the years 1688 and 1695 is accord- 
ing to the following Scheme : 

Burtiels barrels 

of Malt. ftrong. f Excifed - 4,800,000 at 

f* 15,900,000 Producing 5,300,000 < 2s. 6d. per barrel - £. 600,000 
A° J i_Not excifed 500,000. 

1688. 1 Bar-is fmall. T Excifed - 2,400,000 at 

[_ 7,100,000 Producing 7,100,000 < 6d. per barrel - - 60,000 

(_Not excifed 4,700,000. 

23,000,000 - - 12,400,000 - - jr. 660,000 

Bar ls flrong. f Excifed - 3,200,000 at 
#"14,500,000 Producing 3,850,000 •< 4s. gd. per barrel -£.766,100 
A° j L Not excifed 620,000. 

1695. / Bar ls frriall. f Excifed - 2,200,000 at 

L 7,500,000 Producing 7,500,000 -J is. 3d, per barrel - 137,80c 
C Not excifed 5,300,000. 

22,000,000 - - 11,350,000 - -- -- -- - £.903,600 

Whence it follows, 

That if the drink brewed for private life, A 1688,^ 

had paid the then Duty of Excife, it had eorne to > £.840,000 ; 

f. 180.000, and in the whole - -- -- --J 

That if the drink brewed for private ufe, A 1695,-% 

fhould pay the prefent Duty, it would come to (.£.1,3 1 1,850 ; 

£\ 408,250, and in the whole - - - - - -J 

That railing the Excife has reduced the consumption of malt from 
23 millions of bufhels to 22 millions ; 

That it has reduced the quantity of drink brewed from 12,400,000 
barrels j to 11,350,000 barrels ; 

That it has decreafed public brewing from 4,800,000 barrels of flrong 
drink, to 3,230,000 barrels; and from 2,400,000 barrels of fmall 
to 2,200,000 barrels; 

And that it hath increafed private brewing from 500,000 barrels of 
ftrong to 620,000 barrels; and from 4,700,000 barrels of fmall to 
5,300,000 barrels; 

jLaftly, That 9d. per bufhel on Malt, at the Kiln, is much about equi- 
valent to the prefent Excife ; and that i8d. per bufhel on Malt, at 
the Mafh Fatt, would come to One Million flerling. 



OF GREGORY KING. 



433 



§ IX. — A Calculation of the Poll Bills ? and 
fbme other Taxes, and what may be railed 
by fome Commodities not yet taxed. 

THAT the Produce of the iad Polls ift Will, and 

Mary, being - - .£.288,300, 

And of the Quarterly Poll, 3d Will, and Mary, - - 597?5 00 > 

The people of England do not appear, 

by the ift Poll Bills, to be above - 5,400,000 fouls, 

Though in the confumption and ex- 
pence of the nation they anfwer to 
near - 5,500,000 fouls 

As by the following Scheme : 

i2d Poll, Quarterly Poll, 
ift W. and M. 3d W. and M. 

The number of people as they anfvvered in 

the Poll Tax - - - 5,400,000 -■ 5,390,000 : 

Viz. — Perfons receiving alms - - 600,000 - 620,000 
Their children under 16 years - 300,000 - 310,000 
Perfons not paving; to church and ) 

V ' v° > - 670,000 

poor (660,000) ----- j ' 

Their children under 16 years - 600.000 - 610,000 

Children under 16 of day labourers 240,000 - 260,000 
Children under 16 of fervants in] , 

hufcandry \ l ^ 000 " l6o ' 00 ° 

Children under 16, of fuch as have") 

4 children, or more, and are not > 180,000 - 200,000 

worth JT. 50, (150,000 parents) 3 
Omitted by neglect , or otherwife 7 

deficient' J 1CO ' 00 ° " I20 ' 00 ° 

So the number of thofe that were excufed, 1 

. r \ ■ >2,TCO,0OO - 2,Q CO, COO 

or info 1 vent, is - - - - - - - j ; - ) . yo 1 

The number of the foivent people - - 3.250.000-2,440,000 

In all - - 5,400,000 - 5,390,000 



At izd. At 4s. 

per head. per head. 



So the common duty of the foivent people } j6 2 
amounted to 

And all other parts of the faid Polls - - 125,800 - 109,500 



In all - - - 288,-300 - 597,500 
F f Note— 



434 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



Note- — That the Quarterly Poll excufed all fuch as, by reafon of 
their poverty, did not contribute to Church and Poor; whereas the 
Twelvepenny Poll excufed only their children under 16 years, but 
not the parents themfelves : Whereby the Quarterly Poll excufed 
600,000 perfons more than the Twelvepenny Poll, by that fingle ar- 
ticle. 

That, if all perfons had paid the common duty only upon the Twelve- 
penny Poll, without any thing for degrees, titles, or qualifications, it 
would have raifed near as much as it did, or - - - ^.275,000; 

And thai, if ail perfons had paid only the common duty of 4s. upon 
the Quarterly Poll, it would have raifed near twice as much as it did, 
or - ----- ------- - 1,100,000. 



Of the prefent DUTY on Marriages, Births, and Burials ; 
accounting the People to be 5,400,000 Souls. 

At a Medium in Time of Peace: 

Yearly In all Com. Duty. But A 1695, Thus 

Burials 1 in 32 — 170,000 at 4s. each 34,000 — 1 in 29^ — 183,000 
Births 2 in 2.8 — • 190,000 at 2s. each 19,000 — 1 in 30* — - f77,ooo 
Marriages 1 in 132 — « 41,000 at 2s. 6d. - 5,125 — r in 140 — 39,000 
Batchelors 1 in 40 — 140,000 at' is. - - 7,000 — 1 in 40— 140,000 
Widowers 1 in 200 — • 27,000 at is. - - 1,350 — 1111200 — 27,000 

In all - £. 66,475 ------- 



Omissions, Frauds, and Insolvent : 

In Burials - - 6 per cent. — 10,000 at 4s. each - £. 2.000 

Births - - 3 percent.— 6,cooat2S. — — — 600 

Marriages r\ per cent, — ioco at 2s. 6c!. * 125 

Batchelors 10 per cent. — i4,©co at is. ■ - - 700 

Widowers 5 percent.— 1,500 at is. — — • 75 

In all - 3*500 




Excused by receiving Alms : 

In Burials ------ co,ooo ----- eo,oco 

Births 30 per cent. — 60,000 at 2s. each £. 6,oco 
Marriages 10 per cent. — 4,000 at 2s. 6d. — — 500 
Batchelors 5 per cent. ■ — 7,000 at is. ■ .. . ■ 350 
Widowers 20 per cent. — 5,000 at is. - ■ 250 

In all - £.7, icq 

So the common Duty comes to - -- -- -- - 66,47* 

And the Deductions - - - - io,0oo 

Whereby the neat produce of the common Duty is ------ ^-55>^75 



The 



OF GREGORY KING. 435 

The Perfons charged for Quality are about 1 in 10 of the whole ; 
viz. 

Burials - - - 17,000 — at 14s. each - - .£.11,900 

Births - - - 19,000 — at 8s. each - - - 7,600 

Marriages - - 4,000 — at 10s. each - - - 2,000 

Batchelors - - 14,000 — at 5s. each - - - 3,500" 

Widowers - - 3,000 — at 5s. each - - - 1,500 

In all, for Quality - - £.26,500 
Omiffions, Frauds, and Infolvents, in Quality, a 7 

10th part, or - _---.,----]" M 2 5 

Whereby the neat Produce for Quality is » - - - 2 B* 1 7S 
And the neat Produce of the Common Duty - - - 55,875 

So the neat Produce, in all, fhould be - - - - 81,050 
Whereas it is given for -------- -£.130,000. 



Of the prefent DUTY on HOUSES and WINDOWS, for (applying 
the Deficiency of the Clipt Money. 

The number of inhabited houfes is near ----- 1,300,000 
The number of windows under - - r - - - - 9,000,000 

Hoxifes. 

Whereof 980,000 under 10 windows, at 2s. per houfe ,£.98,000 

270,000 under 20 windows, at 6s. per houfe 81,000 

50,000 above 20 windows, at 10s. per houfe 25,000 

1,300,000 - - r - « - £,204,000 



Out of which Deducting— *■ 

Houfes. 

For thofe who receive alms 330,000, at as. - per houfe £.33,000 

Thofe who do not pay to ) -t . . , 

. u j r 1 > 300,000, at as- 40. - - - ~. 44,000 
church and poor \ T " 

Omiffions, frauds, and 
defaulters - - - 



j- 40,000, at 4s. - - - - - 8,000 



Infolvent, — In all * 750,000 - - t— * - £• 85,000 
Solvent, — In all - - 550,000 - * 219,000 

So that the neat produce is but - - - - - £.1 19,000 per ann» 
Whereas, it being; granted for 7 vears, and valued ) 

at £. 1,200,000 fterling, it is given for above -J ' 3 y ' 

F f % But, 



43^ 



THB POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



But, whereas the premium and intereft money, upon advancing fuch 
part of the fum (which the act hath given credit for) as the fund will 
bear, may be eftimated at 12 or 13 per cent, and the collecting and 
other charges 5 or 6 per cent : In all, 18 or 19 per cent. 

It follows, that the neat produce to the Exchequer will be but 
/^.ico,cco per annum, applicable to the difcharge of principal and 
intereft ; but, if one half of the £. 1,200,000 be advanced the firft year 
upon the credit of the aft, and that a fourth part of the faid £,1 19,000, 
fhould be paid, in the firft year, in light hammered money, worth only 
|ths of the tale, the produce of tnefirft year, applicable to the difcharge 
of the principal money, will not be above £. 50,000. 

So that if the whole deficiency of the dipt money fhould, inftead of 
£.1,200,000, amount to £.2,400,000, it will be about 24 years before 
the faid dntv will difcharge the principal and intereft, though there 
fhould be no further anticipations thereon than 5 or£. 6oo,oco at the 
firft, and though the faid duty fhould produce, by the end of the faid 
24 years, £.1 14,000 per annum clear, applicable to the difcharge of 
the principal. 



As to Come COMMODITIES not yet TAXED. 

Per Ann. 

That a halfpenny per lb. on common foap, 7 m »r r 

4 iu o A-i r r WJ 11 raife near /.co.ooo 

and a penny per lb. on Lalhie ioap, J *» -> ' 

That a halfpenny per lb. on candles - - will raife about 70,000 

That three halfpence in the {lulling 011 ? w uj De 

leather, parchment, and vellum, - - J wn " 100,000 

That id. per bufriel on malt will raife £.100,000 per annum ; 

confequently 3d. per bufhel will raife £.300,000 - - - 300,000 

That 3d. per bufhel on wheat will raife 150,000 

That 2d. per bufhel on rye will raife ------- 67,000 

That id. per buftiel on all barley and oats brought 1 

to the mill, will raife - j " I3 ' 00 ° 

In all — £.750,000 
That id. in the Crown, of the value of all live cattle, 7 

•15 • r ' > - 400,000 

will raite $ 

That id. in the (hilling on all flefh fpent as food, will raife - 300,000 
That 3d: per fleece, for each fleece of wool ftiorn, will raife - 100,000 

In all - - £.800,000 

That 2s. per cent, on all materials for buildinorcr} 

. r .„ - r ° > - 300,000 

repairs, will rane - -- - - -- -- - j J 7 

That 10 per cent, upon all wool confumed, or manu- 7 

r n j -11 T (t - >C0,00O 

fa&ured, will raife - -- - j ->. > 



OF GREGORY KING. 



437 



§ X. — THE State of the Nation, Anno 1695. 

THAT the prcfent income of the nation is a 1 

million' lefs than it was anno 1688, and is > 42 f millions flerling. 

now but about j 

That the yearly expence is about 4oi millions, } .1 m ^ Qns fe r w. 

and the taxes 5 millions. — In all - - - j^j- & 
That the kingdom does now yearly decreafe - 3 millions fterling. 
That if the war were to continue to anno 1698 inclufive: 

T bebm >ef " ly - in - COn - e - Vi - P rob _ abmt >'} 3 8f millions fterling. 

Theexpence - 3 8f ffijlHons. J f j, ^ millions fterling. 
Taxes - 4 millions, j 

The yearly decreafe - -.------4 millions ilerling. 

According to the following Scheme : 





Annnal 




'- u £ 


Extraordinary 


Annual 


Increafe or 




Income of 




^ :"6 


Taxes 




Decieafe of 




the Nation. 


IK 


J? to . » 


actually raifcd. 


in all. 


the Nation. 


1S88 


43,500 


41, -co 


2,000,000 




41,700,000 Incr. 


1, 800,000 


3689 


43,600 


41,500 


i,8cc,coo 


3, coo, coo 


44,500,000 Deer. 


900,000 


1 Coo 


43,700 


41,500 


i,8co,coo 


4,000, coo 


45,500.000 Drcr. 


1,800,000 


1691 


43,800 


41,400 


1,700,000 


4,000.000 


45,400,000 Deer. 


1,600,000 


1692 


43,800 


41,200 


1,700,000 


4,000,000 


45,200,000 Deer.. 


1,400,000 


1693 


43/00 


41,000 


I, 6OO ; OOO 


4,oco.ooo 


45,000,000 Deer. 


1,400,000 


1694 


43,100 


40,^00 


i,ioc,coo 


5,000,000 


45,800,000 Dfcr. 


2,700,000 


1695 


42,500 


40,500 


1,500,000 


5;Ooo,ooo 


45,500,00c Decn 


3;00o,coo 


3696 


41,600 


40,100 


i,5oo ; ooo 


4, 5oo ; ooo 


44,600,000 Deer. 


3,ooc,cco 


1697 


40,200 


39,300 


1,400,000 


4,500,000 


43,800,000 Deer. 


3,600,000 


1698 


38,500 


38,500 


I -400,000 


4,oco,coo 


42,500,000 Deer. 


4,ococco 



Hence we may infer, 

That in 7 vears, from 1688 to 160c inclufive, ) .... r r 
the taxes'have amounted to, effectually . \ 2 9 milIl0ns fefag- 

But, that the kingdom is fcarce actually decreafed 1 3 millions. 

So that, by induftrv, and frugality, there have 7 c 
been laved ivAl - -- -- -- - j 

That, by the year 1698, iiichiflve, the taxes ~) 

will, in 10 years, have amounted to, in all > 42 millions, 
probability, effectually ------ ^ 

And the kingdom will be actually decreafed - 23 f millions. 

Ff 3 That 



4jB THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



That, after the year 1695, the taxes actually raifed will fall fliort 
every year, more and more, to that degree, that the war cannot well 
be fuftained beyond the year 1698 upon the foot it now (lands, 
unlefs— 

j. The yearly income of the nation can be increafed : 

2. Or the yearly expence diminifhed : 

3. Or a foreign or home credit be obtained or eftablifhed : 

4. Or the confederacy be enlarged : 

5. Or the (late of the war altered : 

6. Or a general excife, in effect, introduced : 

Now, whereas, by the foregoing fcheme, the wealth of the kingdom 
feems to be actually dccreafed almoft 13 millions fterling, between 
1 688 and 1695, incmfive; and will probably decreafe by 1698, in- 
clufive, above 10 millions and a half more — In all about 23 mil- 
lions and a hdU in ten years : — The faid decreafe feems to be thus 
chargeable : 

Decreafe Decreafe Remaining 

The Stock of by the Remaining by the Stock^An 1 - 
the Kingdcm Year Stock, An° Year 

16S8. 1695. 1695. 1698. 1698. 

Coined Silver ----- 8,500,000 4,000,000 4,500,000 1,500,000 3,000,00® 

Coined Gold ----- 3,000,000 - - - - 3,000,000 1,500,000 1,500,000 

Uncoined Silver and Gold - - 300,000 400,000 100,000 100,000 

Wrought Plate, Rings, &c. - 4,000,000 1,600,000 2,400,000 1,200,000 1,200,000 

Jewels i,5oo;.ooo 500,000 1,000,000 200,000 800,000 

I* arniture, Apparel, &c. - - 10,500,000 2,500,000 8,000,000 1,500,000 6,500,000 

28,000,000 9,000,000 19,000,000 6,000,000 13,000,000 

Stock for Trade, Confumn- ? c 

tion ^c \ 33j° 0O > oo ° 3>ooo,ooo 30,000,000 3,500,000 26,500,000 

The Live Stock in Cattle, &c. 25,000,000 1,000,000 24,000,000 1,000,000 23,000,000 

S6,ooo,ooo i3;coo,ooo 73,000,000 10,500,000 62,500,000 

Kence it follows, that if the flock of the nation, which was 86 
millions fterling anno 168S ; viz. about double to the yearly income 
and expence, mail be decreafed to 62 millions and a half by anno 
169S ; the war cannot well be fuftained longer than that year, for 
thefe reafons :— 

1. For that the money of the kingdom will then be but 4f mil- 
lions ; viz. but one-tenth of the annual expence, lefs than which can- 
not circulate the whole ; 

2. That the wrought plate will be little above a million, confe- 
quently, nothing to be fpared further from that article ; 

3. That 7 millions in jewels, houfehold ftuif, furniture, apparel, 
&c. is' the leail quantity we can imagine that article reduceable unto> 
the bedding of the kingdcm amouating to one half of that fen ; 

4. That, 



OF GREGORY KINO. 



439 



4, That, if the flock of the kingdom, in {hipping, forts, and caftles, 
and in naval and military flores andappointments, and for foreign trade 
and home confumption, and all the branches of that article, be reduced 
from 33 to 26 millions; if it mould be further lefTened the nation 
cannot be fecure, trade cannot be carried on, nor a furh-ient flock of 
provifions left to fupply us in time of difficulty; 

5. That if the live flock of the nation, which will then be diminifh- 
ed a 1 2th part, mould be further diminifhed, it may occafion an ex- 
eeffive rife of the price of wool, leather, flem, butter, and cheefe, not 
much fhort of a famine, unlefs the number of people decreafe propor- 
tionally ; the effect whereof will be equally pernicious. 



§ XI. — The State of France, and Holland, Anno 
1688, and Anno 1695. 



AS to the State of FRANCE, Anno 16S8; 

THAT France contains about - - - - 126 millions of acres* 
Which at about 40 acres per family, is - 3,200,000 families. 

And allowino- full nine acres per head, and 7 r 1 

, , , r • r > 14,000,000 fouls. 

4 -J. heads per family, is J 

That the vearlv rents of the lands and other 1 „ ,„ 

hereditaments of France, at 5 s. per acre, is ] 3*,ooo,ooo ftemng. 

The trade and bufinefs of France - - - 52^000,000 

In all 84,000,000 flerling. 
Which is for every head in France about - £. 6. per annum. 

OF this 86 millions income per annum in times of peace, 
The taxes and revenue 

of the crown is about J» 10 \ millions flerling, or ~ 1 5s. per head. 



ut J. io| 



:o \ millions flerlin 

The confumption over 7 1 j 

, , *. e > 70 millions, * - or c — - per head, 
ana above taxes, &c. J ' D r 

The yearly increafe - 3 ~ millions, - - or — 5s. per head. 

In all 84 millions, - - or £. 6. — per head. 

AS to the 10 § millions flerling, for the ordinary taxes and public 
revenue of France in time of peace, 
The neceiTary charge of the government requires 7 millions flerling 
The incident charge of the government - - 1 \ millions,, 
The yearly furplus applicable to the increafe of 1 

fhipping, and to naval and military ftores, or > 2 millions, 
to lay up in money 3 

10 \ millions.. 
F f 4 Whish 



440 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



Which yearlly furplus of 2 millions is capable of railing a bank, in 
{hips of war, in naval and military fl:>res, and in ready money, to the 
value of 20 millions fterling, upon the enjoyment of 10 years peace. 

Suppofing, then, that the prefent war has, in 7 years, coft France 
70 millions, or comm 5 annis, 10 millions per annum— 



They had, at the beginning thereof, in {hips of 7 
war extra, and in ftores and money, at leaft } 

They have fpared, out of the incident charges J 
of the government, |d parts, or one million > 
per annum ; in all 3 

They have raifed extra taxes 7 millions per 7 
annum, or 3 



10 millions fterling. 

7 millions fterling. 
49 millions. 



They have opt by prizes at fea, and advan- 7 A - lr 

> 4 millions, 
tages at land 3 "* 

In all 70 millions. 

And the whole taxes and revenue of the crown, ordinary and ex- 
traordinary, have been 17! millions per annum, or 25s. per head per 

annum. 



AS to the State of FRANCE, Anno 1695 : 



IT may well be prefumed, that, by the inter- ^ 
ruption of trade, and the defertion of the re- I 
fugees, the income of France is leflened [ 
10 millions per annum, and is now but - j 

That the people of France are leiTened \ of a* 
million, and being now but 13,500,000 
fouls, have reduced their expence about 9s. 
per head per annum; viz. from £. 5. to 
£.4.. us.; whereby the prefent yearly con- 
fumption is - - j 

That the yearly charge of the war is now in- 7 
creafed to - - - - .$ 

That the neceflary charge of the government 7 
isftHf! ----------- J 

The incident charges . - - 



74 



millions fterlin< 



> 61 r million- 



2 1 millions. 



7 millions. 
o| million. 



In all So millions. 

So that France does now actually decreafe 1 

near a 12th part of its annual income, V 6 millions per annum. 



OF GREGORY KING. 



44* 



AS to the State of HOLLAND, Anno 1688. 

THAT Holland contains ----- S millions of acres* 
That the number of people is - - - - 2,200,000 fouls. 
That to each foul there is in land - - - 3 J acres. 

That the rents of the land, houfes, 

and hereditaments, is 10 s. per J- 4 millions flerling per arum m. 
acre, or 

That the trade and bufmefs of Hoi 



So that the whole income of Hol- 
land is- ------ 

r. s. J. 

That the eeneral income 



lat the trade and bufmefs of Hoi- 7 5 « _ ,. 

j an( j . > 13^ millions iterhng per annum. 

^ 1 7 1 millions flerling per annum. 

lat the general income 7 , Mr a v . . , 

of Holland being - f 1 mill,ons fler!,n S' : s 8 '4 p er head. 

Whereof the taxes,or pub- 1 ~. 

Jic revenue - - - J 4* " Ditto - or z 3 2 per head, 

Confumption in diet, ap-*l 

parel, and incidental I . . 

charges, over and above f " " DlUo " or S ° o per head. 

the taxes - - - - J 
Yearly increafe - - - 1 Ditto - or o 1 8 2 per head. 

1 7 1: - Ditto - or 8 14 per head. 

As to the 4 J Millions fterling public Revenue; 

The ordinary Charge of the Government is, 750,000 7 r 

Intereft Money for 25 Millions, at 4 per Cent. 1,000,000 S ~-3>75°j° 00 Sterling. 

The Incidents or Difcretionray Expences ------ 500,000 Sterling. 

The yearly Surplus, applicable to the Increafe of Shipping 1 

and to Naval and Military Stores, or to lay up in Money S " 5oo,ooo Sterling. 

£.4,750,000 Sterling. 

Suppofing, then, that the prefent war has, in 7 years, cod Holland 
22 millions, or 3,150,000 flerling per annum— 

They had, anno 1688, in (hips of war extra- 1 

ordinary, and in (lores and public money, p* 5 millions flerling. 
atleaft - - - - - - - - - - ' j 

They have applied, out of their ordinary reve- 1 

nue, the difcretionary expences, and furplus, > J millions. 
1 million per annum ------ ) 

Thev have raifed extraordinary taxes of i; a) x mi. 
<«• ] 1 > io f millions, 

million per annum, or ---•■»» \ 2 

In all 22 § millions. 

AS 



V 



44* 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



AS to the State of HOLLAND 1695 : 

Suppofing that the government is decreafed 4- Millions fterling, 
frnce the beginning of the war to the year 1695 : 

Yet, confidering, that by a more than ordinary' 



- 



£■ 

3,500,000 fterling. 



frugality in diet, apparel, and fuch other in 
cident charges, as relate to the confumption « 
of things, which amounts to about 13 millions V 
per annum, the people may well have faved a ! 
26th part, or f a miliion per annum, of their I 
ordinary expences. In ail for 7 years - J 
And that, by a more than ordinary induftry 
and application to trade, during the war, and 
the great benefit they have made thereof, by 
the nigh price of all foreign commodities, 
efpecially thofe from India (occafioned, in 1 
great meafure, by the lofs of fo many Englifh V 3.500,000 fierling. 
Eaft India Ships, and the difficulties which ^ 
the Englifh Eaft India Company hath lain 
under of late years) they may well have ad- 
vanced their profit by trade half a million 
per annum more : In all for 7 years - - 
And, that out of the 2 millions yearly 
in times of peace, the additional taxes 
war having been but 1 \ million per 
there remains an increafe of \ a million per 
annum : In all for 7 years ----- J 



5 ~ ~ J 
increafe,"*] 
axes this J 

r annum, \ 3,500,000 fie 

illion npr » 



i-ling. 



4§ millions. 



ic-. 



millions. 



It follows, that the government is decreafed 
Yet the people have increafed - - - - - 
So that Holland, in general, is richer than at 7 

the beginning of the war, by - f - J 
Allowing, then, the prefent income of Hoi 

land to be half a million per annum more 

than in time of peace ; viz. - - 
The ordinary charge of the government - - 
Intereft of money for 25 millions fterling - - 
The extraordinary charge of the war at a medium 
The yearly confumption half a miliion lefs 7 

than in time of peace ------ 3 

In all £.17,400,000 fterling 



lol- 7 
nore > 



6 millions. 



£.18,250,000 flerling- 

2,750,000 fterling; 
1. 000,000; 
3,150,000; 

10,500,000 ; 



It follows, that there is yet an annual increafe 7 
in general of - - - - - - - - J 

That is to fay, the public revenue has de- 7 
creafed annually ------- j 

But the people have increafed commimibus 7 



850,000 ; 
650,000 ; 



OF GREGORY KING. 



443 



<§ XII. THE State and Condition of the Three Nations, of 
England, France, and Holland, compared one 
with another, with refpect to the Years 1688 and 1695. 

THE EXPENCE of the Three Nations in DIET, I thus Eftimate: 

For Anno 1695, 

England. France. Holland. In alL 

1. In Bread, Bread Corn, Cakes,! 

Bifcuit, Paftry, Pudding, and all >£. 4,300,000 .£.10,600,000 £.1,4.00,000 £. 16,300,0c* 
things made of meal or flour - J 
■2. In Beef, Mutton, Veal, Lamb, 
Pigs, Pork, Bacon, Kids, Venifon, 
Conies - -- ------ 

3. In Batter, Cheefe, znd Milk - . 

4. In Malt Drink, or Beer and Ale ? 
only - - - - - _ - _ 5 

5. In Wine, Brandy, Spirits, and 
ftrong 
Mum 
Wines 



} 



,300,000 5,600.000 



2,300,000 
5,800,000 



4,200,000 

100,000 



Vine, Kranuy, Spirits, and "J 
I Liquors, Cyder, Perry, / 
, Mead, Metheglin, and made f 

s - - J 
In Filh, Fowls, and Eggs - - . 
In Fruit, Roots, and Garden Stuff - 
In Salt, Oil, Pickles, Spices, Gro-1 
eery, and Confectionary Ware, > 
Jellies, Sweetmeats, &c, - - -J 



1,300,000 9,000,000 



1,700,000 
1,200,000 



3,900,00-0 
3,600,000 



800,000 

600,000 
t, 200,000 

400,000 

1,100,000 
400,000 

300,000 



I0 ; 000,000 

7,100,-coo 
7)100,000 

10, 600, coo 

6,500,000 
5,200,000 

4,400,000 



21,000,000 38,ooo ; ooo 6,200,000 65,200,00* 



Hence we may obferve, 

That, if England contain 5,500,000 fouls, France 1 3 J millions, and 
Holland 2,200,000 ; — then each head fpends, in Diet, one with another. 
£.3, is. 4a. per annum: viz. each head, in England, £•$, 16s. 5d.-— 
In France, £.2. 16s. 2d. — In Holland, £.2. 16s. rd. 

According to the following Scheme; 

England : France : Holland : 



1. Bread corn, &c. 



1; 8 



2. Flefti meat - - - - — 12 — - — 8 



3. Butter, cheefe, and milk — » 8 

4. Ale and beer - - - - 1 1 
c. Wine, fpirits, and llrong } 

liquors ----- J * 

6. Fifli, fowl, and eggs - — 6 

7. Fruit, roots, and garden } 
fluff ----- J"" + 

8. Salt, oil, pickles, gn>)__ 
eery, &c. - - - $ * 



£- — 15 « 


r- — 


12 


""1 

9 










- — 6 — 






3 






6 






10 


11 


- — 12 n 




3 


8 


- — 5 7 




10 




— S 2 




3 


S 


- — 4 3 




2, 


8 



5 " — 
1 

8 



4 — ' 



£. 3 t6 5 - £• 2 16 2 - £.2 16 5 



444 



OF GREGORY KING 



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THE PLIOTICAL CONCLUSIONS 



445 



Hence it follows, that, from the year 1688 to 1695, England has 
decreafed, in people, 50,000; France, 500,000 ; and Holland is in- 
creafed 40,000. 

That England is decreafed, in its Income, a million ; France 10 mil- 
lions ; but Holland is increafed half a million. 

That England has raifed extraordinary taxes, communibus annis, 
about 4! millions per annum ; France 7 millions per annum ; Holland 
about a million and a half per annum. 

That England has lefTened its ordinary expence ^.700,000 per an- 
num ; France 8 millions; Holland half a million. 

\ 

Laftly, That if England decreafed annually 3 millions fterli ng, or a 
14th part of its annual income, and France 6 millions, or near a 12th 
part of 74 millions, the decreafe of England is in proportion to the de- 
creafe of France but as 6 to 7 ; whereas Holland increafes a 21th part. 



THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 

N° II.— A SCHEME of the INHABITANTS 



Civit. Glouc r 2696. An EXTRACT from the ASSESSMENT 



Pai ifhes and Precincts. 



Number of 
Houfes or 
Families. 



The College Precinfl: 



St- Marv tie Load 



43 



"5 



St. Nicholas 



236 



Trinity Pari fa 



St. Michael 



St. Aldates 



St. Marv de Grace - 



Sr. John Baptift 



St. Katherine 



St. Mary de Cript 



St Ewens 



The Total, in 1696 



Do. - in 1 So 1 



35 



248 



98 



40 



3,126 



3,325 



64 65 



77 77 



24 24 



109 209 



* 75 75 



77 



25 25 



77o 77 1 



10 43 



49 9° 



7 3° 



32 32 



2 14 



5 29 



5 29 



13 28 



3 35 



332 335 



OF GREGORY KING, 
of the City of GLOUCESTER. 



447 



on MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, and BURIALS ; per Gregory King, Efq. 



a. ! ~ 

«T « 

1 I 
?. ^ 


Ch.ldren at 
home with 
their Pa- 
rents. 

J! fco 
J fi 


Servants. 
1 g 

S £ 


Sojourners. 
1 1 


Number of 

1 1 

s £ 


TOTAL 

of the 
Number 

of 
Souls. 




22 37 


8 30 


2 8 


63 hi 


174 


J s 


^7 107 


4 2 


11 16 


177 241 


418 


14 


19+ 2 44 


75 


6 16 


490 600 


1,090 


5 6 


76 82 


22 29 


1 2 


183 221 


404 


37 2 


93 


33 46 


1 9 


253 287 


504 


8 8 


67 72 


3 3 


4 


t 3 i 152 


283 


2 


21 29 
121 148 

IOO IC2 


10 18 


3 
17 24 


5 s 84 
285 349 


142 


5 T 3 


28 26 


634 


3 5 


2 


11 15 


194 228 


422 


21 5 


84 93 


3i 45 


12 27 


238 275 - 


U3 


1 5 


24 25 


3 3 
194 279 


3 6 


57 79 


136 


100 52 


8S9 — 1,060 


64 — 130 


2,129 — ->6 2 7 
3,428—4,151 


4-756 






3 




7,579 



44^ THE POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS 



NO. in. 



A Computation of the Endowed Hospitals, and 
Alms-Houses, in England. 

hospitals and alms-houses. 

The four great hofpitals of London, viz, Chrift-"1 jT. 

church, St. Bartholomew, Bridewell, and Sr. I 

Thomas, have a certain revenue in rents of f I0 > 000 P er _ a nn« 

about - - -- -- -- -J 

And by fines and contingent charities, about - - 1 5,000 per ann. 

Beiides which, there may be, within the bills of 1 

mortality, about 100 hofpitals, or endowed alms- > 20,000 per ann. 

houfes, of about £.200 per annum each - = j 

-j 

In all 45,000 per ann. 



There may be, in the reft of the cities and market"? 

towns of the kingdom, 500 other hofpitals and > 70,000 per ann. 
alms-houfes, of about ^.140 per annum each - J 

There may be in the reft of the kingdom about") 

500 hofpitals and alms-houfes more, of about > 50,000 per ann. 
^•100 per annum each ------- 3 



In all 165,000 per ann. 



In 



OF GREGORY KING. 



449 



In London. 

^Ki The 100 leffer i5 5 «: The rfs- 

Alms-houfes. of the 

M ~* £ C § KlNCDOM. 



Number of hofpitals or alms-houfes - •» - 4 - 3 100 - - 500 ^ 0o 

Number of poor maintained in each - - 250 - - 14 - - 12 IO 

Number of poor maintained in the 7 , 

whole - - \ J > 00 ° - " ~ 6 ' 00 ° S.ooo 

J. ' ' £j ^ & / • 

Charge of the poor per head ----- 16 - - 11 - 10 8 10 

Total charge of the poor main- 1 £> £- £> p 

tained in the faid hofpitals or S 16,000 - 15,400 * 60,000 42)jOC> mmm 

alms-houfes j — — — - — 

Number of officers, fervants, or ? 

a ffiftams,inall - \ ' 300 '' 130 : - 3°° 9J » 

^" ^* £' r 

Charge of thefaid officers, fervants, ? *•* 

and amftant's, per head - - J * 30 " " 30 s ~ ^ i a . 

Total charge of the faid officers, 7 , 

fervants, and affiftants , J 6 ' 00 ° ~ ' 2 ' 4 ° " " 3»ooo 



Contingent expences in repairs, &c. - - 3,000 - - 2,200 - - 5,500 4,500 

£• £• s - £* £. 

nead to I 

the number of the poor 



Contingent expences per head to | 



Total charge of thefaid hofpitals 1 „ « «^ 

and alms-houfes - - - -J 2 5>°°° - ^o.ooo - 7 o,ooo Jo ,ooo - 



Total number of the inhabitants! „ ^ 

of England - - - - - j m " " ' ^ >° 00 * 870,000 4^oo,ooo 

Proportion of people to one perfon 1 _ „ 220 _ Uf . Soo 
lb maintained - * - - - £ ^ ^ 



Gg 



THE 



INDEX. 



ACTS of Parliament, number of, pafled in 10 years, ending with 
1793, for promoting the intereit of the people - - 274 

— — table of the number of, pafTed in eight years, ending with 1792, 

for making local improvements - - - 275 

a . ■ table of the number of, pafTed in eight years, ending with. 

1800, for making local improvements - - 311 

Agriculture, promoted by Richard II. - - =24 

* little underftood before the time of Henry VIII. - ag 

— — advantages to be derived from the encouragement of it - 144, 
«— — progrefs of inclofures of waftes and commons, from the time 

of Q^Anne, to the year 1800 - 145 — 313 

■ - its improvement in the prefent reign, - -31 2 — 23 

Amerkf, difadvantages to Great Britain from the increafed territory 

in - - - - - - 241 

— — - falfe alarms from the war with - - - 166* 

— — advantagesjto England from the independence of - 167-8 
Anne, Queen, the ftrength of the nation at heracceilion - 8z 
'• - -- her revenue - 85-6 

— — the fupplies during her reign - •* 87 

— — the poft-office duties during her reign - - gz 

—-her navy ----- 89 

— ■ the amount and lofles of trade and fhipping during her 

reign - - - - - 89-90 

* ■ . complaints of the decline of both - "93 

— the falutary laws of her reign - - - .93-4 

Annuities, which will fall in before 1808 - - 345 

Afile (Mr. Thomas) thanked for the communication of his tranfcript 

from the Exchequer books = - - ■= 63 

Auckland (Lord) quoted - 266 

Authors, fome always ready to perfuade us that the nation is ruined, 

47.— 7a — 73. — 91 — 92—93. — 105.— 1 08.— 11 £«— 13. —1 20-2 u 

*~iaf,— 132-3,— 13 153.^-175. 

G g % Baltmct 



THE INDEX. 



Balance of T fade, ftate of opinions on - - 244 

■ ■ • a chronological table of - - - w 234 
- ■■ table of, with the different nations of Europe, in 1771-2-3 249 

■ table of, with Africa and the Eaft Indies - - 250 
— — table of, with America and the Welt Indies - - ibid. 

" 1 the nett gains on - • - - 251 

in 1796 - 258 

Bank of Amjlerdam, account of - 140 
Bank of England, eftablimed in 1694 - - 78 

the lapfe of - - - - - 305 

its circulation - - - - 305 

Barnard, Sir John, quoted - - - - 114 

Banking Houfes, the origin of - - 45 

Banks, (country) their failures - 296-7 
Bankruptcies, the numbers in England from 1700 to 1793 * 291 

of 1793, not owing to the war - 294 

how they obltru£l circulation - - 294-5 

progrefs and caules of - 292. — 5 

* in 1793, caufes and confequences of - 294. — 303 

— 1 — how they injure manufactures and trade - - 190 

Baptifms, number of, in the villages around London at different 
periods - -- - _ - -217 

«r? number of, in i6parifhes in Lancafhire, at different period* 

218 

Bolingiroke, Lord, and others, mifreprefented the ftate of the nation, 
1 750? when it was mod profperous - 120 
Brakenr.idge, Dr. cenfured - Pref. ix. 

Britain, Great. See England. 

Buff on, Count de, fuppofed man urged to procreation by inilincl 1 

Charles I. encouraged fhip-building ' - - 42 

Charles II. King, turnpikes eftablifhed in his reign - 33. — 4<? 
— — encouragement given to manufactories, commerce, and huf- 
bandry, in his reign, by turnpikes and inland navigation, 46 ; 
and in the prefent - 1 - - - 273. — 75 

Chronological Table, its vaft informations - - - 2 34 

Circulation, well explained by Sir Tho. More - 29 

1 further illuftrated - - 184. — 89 

the mifchiefs of its obftru£tions - - 189-90 

— impeded by bankruptcies - 2 9+ _ 5 
Clarendon, Lord, gives a pleafmg account of the commerce of Eng- 
land in the reign of Charles I. - - 44 
Clarke ) the Rev. Dr. cenfured for his ignorance = Pref. iv. 

Coin, 



THE INDEX. 



Coin, the quantity coined, Chron. Table - . 234 

— the quantity in circulation at different periods 261. — 267 
Coinage in each reign, from Queen Elizabeth's to the prefent - 261 
— • — the total of. See the Chronological Table. 
Commerce, not encouraged by monopoly, prohibitions, or preventing 
the exportation of corn - .- - 33, — 37 

— -— , the conftant increafmg ftate of, from 1580 - - 45 

caufes of the lofs of trade in the war of the Revolution 68 9 

. ftate of mips cleared at the port of London in various years, 

from 1688 to 1784 - - - - -69 
encouragements given to it fmce the Revolution - 77 

— — encreafed to double from the peace of Ryfwick to the acceiTion 
of Queen Anne - - - - g c 

— — flourifhing ftate of, atthedemife of Queen Anne 190-91 

— falfely reprefented by Wood at the accefllon of George I. - 91 

ftate of, in the reign of George I. - 104-5 

value of the exports 1738 - 11 2. — 18 

chronological table of the commerce of Great Britain from the; 

Reiteration to 1 Soi - 234, 
- — general progrefs of, after our fucceflive wars - 243-4. 

number of acls of parliament for the encouragement of, pafled. 

in 10 years ------ 275, 

Compton, Sir Spencer, anecdote of him - - - j 1 1 

Corn, the bounty on exportation, given in thefirft parliament after 
the Revolution - - - - - 76 

the price of, from 1692 to 1699 - - - 77 

annual export, from 1744 to I 748» 753>^ 8 9 quarters - 11S 

quantity confumed by each perion in one year - 315-1& 

. quantity confumed in England and Wales in one year 317 

bounty on the export of, in each year - - - 322 

the vaft amount of the whole bounty on export - ibid, 

the exports and imports thereof, from 1696 to i8co ibid. 

■ bad confequences of the bounty on the export of - 324-5 

the prices of, from 1688 to 1800 - - ibid. 

the bounty on the import thereof, when it began - 329 

ditto, the amount of bounties thereon - - ibid. 

laws, and bounty, difcufied - 323 .—3 3 1 

dearth of, investigated - - - 331. — 33 - 

Culliford, William, the^rft infpeaor-general - Pref. iy, 

Cujlom duties, the annual amount of, from 16C0 to 1689 - 49 
Cufroms, arguments from them, of the profper:*y of the country ibid* 
— — nett, paid into the exchequer, frcm 1603 to iSotf - 2341 
G g* 3 Da-Tenant, 



THE INDEX. 



Davenant, Dr. the fecond infpector-general - Pref. iv 4 

— garbles, and praifes Gregory King - - 398 

*=> Dearths, the caufes thereof, inveftigated - = 331.— ^3 

——Depreciation of money * - - - 333 

Doddington, Mr. his factious conduct - = 120.-— 6 

Doomfday-book mews the fcanty population of England - 4-5 

Dutch, their unneighbourly interference in the American war 172 

Eaji India Company, acts of parliament for regulating the concern* 
of------- 270 

— — the affairs, and the trade of - 270-1 

Edward III. King, deplorable {late of labourers in his reign 8-9-10 

— produce of a poll-tax in the 51ft year of his reign 12-13 

» in 1360, collected 100,000 men to invade France - iS 

**— - invited foreigners to inftruct his fubjects in the ufeful arts 21 
— — in 1337 no wool to be exported - - - ibid, 

Edward IV. King, his laws fhevv the mercantile fyftem - 24 
Edward VI. King, brought over many thoufand manufacturers - 3s 

* act refpecting vagabonds - ibid, 

Elizabeth, Queen, her act refpecting labourers and their wages 35-6 
*-» — a few falutary laws made in her reign - 37 

— — the number of people under her - - 38 

England, fettled probably 1000 years before Chrift - 3 

— found by Csefar to contain a great multitude of people, who 

fubfiftfd by feeding of flocks - - - ibid. 

1 1 ... the Britons foon taught manufactures and commerce - ibid* 
... 1 . Romans continued from 55 years before Chrift, till 446 after, 

3-4 

.-- from this time began a war of' 600 years continuance - 4 

«— »»■ at the Conquer!: divided into five clalies of people - ibid* 
— — fuppofed by Lord Ch. J. Hale, and Gregory King, to con- 
tain two million of inhabitants at the Conqueft - ibid* 
■m i. ■■ a fcene of insurrections and foreign ravages to the time of the 
Great Charter $ 
ill effects of the Conqueft on population - ibid, 

c . - the plague of 1 349 laid to have taken oh? half Us inhabitants 

11 

number of inhabitants in 1377, 2,092,978 - 14 

the tax paid by moft of the principal towns in England in 1377 

16-17 

— — Edward III. raifed 100,000 men to invade France iS 
- ' ■■ attention to the trade, navigation, and commerce, from 1 3 8 1 24 

the trade, in the reign of Richard III. carried on chiefly by 

Italians - - ~, . *, - - 25 

**> £ngiand 3 



THE INDEX. 

England, the number of fighting men in 1575, 1,172,674. - 37 
*■ ■ ■ in 1583, 1,172,000 — the number of inhabitants 4,688,000 38 
*— »— communicants and recufants in 1603, 2,065,498 - 39 
» f « navy in 1581, 72,450 tons, and 14,295 men « -40 
v . ' 21,797 feamen regiftered in London in 1732 - - 41 

— - the conftant increafing ftate of commerce from 1580 43 

£• 95>5 I2 >°95> raifed by taxes, confifcations, and contribu- 
tions, during the great rebellion - - -44 
— — Conformifts, Non-conformifts, and Papifts, in 1689, 2,599,726 

5o 

houfes in England and Wales lu 1665, 1,230,000— -in 1690, 
1,300,000 - " - - - 51 

— — houfes in 1801 216 

- number of inhabitants, according to Gregory King, 5,500,000 

5S 

7,000,000 of inhabitants at the Revolution - -58 
— — the quick railing of armies no proof of population - ibid. 

the number of fighting men at the Revolution, 1,308,000 62. 

s the number of fouls in 180 1 - - - - 221 

* income of the nation, £.45,500,000 - 6s 

yearly expence of the people, £. 41,700,000 - - ibid, 

— — — value of the kingdom, 650,000,000 63 

■ circulating money, according to Davenant, £.18,500,0005 

according to King, £.11,500,000 - ibid n 
— — annual income of James II. £.2,061,856. 7s. y-d, - ibid, 
— — income paid into the exchequer in 1691, £.4,249,757 64 

fupplies during the war, £. 5,105,505 - - ibid, 

— diftrefTes during the Revolution war - - 67 

— in the reign of Queen Anne contained 2,025,000 fighting 
men - - - - - -83 

~— taxes in 1701, £. 3,769,375 - - - 85 

-— — paid into the Exchequer in 1703, £. 5,561,944 - - ibid, 

— in'1707, 8, 9, 10, each year, £.5,272,578 - - 86 
- revenue in j 726, £. 7,224,175 - lot 
« proved to be in a thriving condition in 1729 - 111-12 

— falfely reprefented by Lord Lyttelton, Pope, and William 
Richardfon, in 1738, to have been in a diftreffed ftate - 1 12-13 

m* — furplus of taxes paid into the finking fund in 1738, 
£. 1,231,127 - - - - - 114 

" in 1750, reprefented by Lord Bolingbroke, Pope, Richardfon, 
and Morris, to be in a diftreffed Hate, when the nation was mcrt 
profperou* 5 - - - - 120-21 

G g 4 England, 



THE INDEX. 

England^ difadvantages from the increafed territory in Amciica and 
the Weft Indies - - - . - - - 141 

— — retained too much territory by the peace of 1762, . - .142-3 

ftiil continues to profper - - _ „ 14.3 

■ advantages from the encouragement of agriculture - 144-5 

— — from improving the roads, and making navigable canals 

146-7 

— — improvements in our harbours and great towns - - 148 

. encouragement given to manufactures - - 150-1 

«— — ufeful regulation for (hipping - 150.— 2 

— — falutary effects of reforming the coin - - - 151 

— - — falfely reprefented as on the decline after the peace of 1763 ; 

the real ltate at that time - - , - 1 52 

• furplus produce of land and labour exported, on an average, 

in i77*> 3» 4> £• i5> 6 n>oo3 - - - - 152 

• * at the colonial revolt, fuppofed to contain 2,3505000 fighting 

men - - - - - - 156-7 

— falfe alarms on account of the American war - - 166-7 

ftate of the commerce with America in 1771, 2, 3, and 

1784 - - - - - - 167 

fuffered no lofs from the independence of America _ 167-8 

derives many benefits from the independence of America, 

167— i 7J 

chronological table of the commerce of, from the Reftoration 
to 1800 - 234^ 

eitimate of the trade of, in 1694, 5, 6, according to Sir Philip 

Meadows 1 calculation, compared with the ledger of the Infpector 
General - • ' - - - - - 239 

Exchequer, income of, in 1691, £.4,249,757. - - 64 

■ compared to the human heart - - 192 

. revenue of in 1783, 1784, and 1785 - 

. Netcuftoms paid into, from 1663 to 1800 - - 234 

Bills, beneficial effects of the iffue of, in 1793 - 298-9 

Farms, confolidations of, depopulates the country - 3 18^9 

fijheries, encouraged in 1 38 1 - - - 24 

— — acts of parliament for the encouragement of - - 272 

Food, keeps pcdulation full, and accumulates numbers - 2 

France, the impolitic conduct of, in affiftlng the Americans - 171 



Gardening, little underftood, before the time of Henry VIII. 2S 
Gee, Jof. his mifreprefentations of trade - - -105 

George I. little felicitous about his crown - - 97 

George 



THE INDEX, 



Gzorge I. foreign difputes during his reign - - - 9f 

the profperity of the nation - - - -9$ 

— the national debt at his acceffion and demife - 59.— 161 

« the taxes, during his reign - - - ioi-7. 

« the ftate of his navy --<=> = - 103 

■ the ftate of the trade and Shipping - 304.-5 

■* the falutary laws made during his reign = - 107 

George II. the ftate of the nation at his acceffion . - 1 10-1 1 

■ the increafe of the trade and fhipping during the firft ten years 
of his reign, 112. — A ftaiement of, ibid.— Complaints of their 
decline - - - - - - 112-13. 

the ftrength of Britain at the commencement of the war of 

1739 ------- 114. — 16 

r—— the loffes of trade from that war - - -117 

the profperity of the nation fubfequent to the peace in 

174.8 ------ 118.— 20 

— , — additional encouragements given - - - 123 

a new war, in 1756 - - - - 126 

the refources of Britain when it began - - 127-8 

the nation profpers during the war - - 128. — 3© 

the great profperity at the peace of 1763 - - 132, 

— the groundlefs complaints of Hume and Blackftone - 132-3 
George III. the ftate of the nation at his acceffion - 131. — 3^ 

the importance of his firft recommendations to Parliament 144, 

agriculture encouraged - - 144- — 312.— 330 

the making of roads promoted - 146 

the making of canals excited - - - - 147 

. manufacturers encouraged - - - -148 

the filheries promoted - - - - 150 

the gold coin reformed - - - -151 

p*- — the number of laws for making local improvements 275«— 31* 
1 — — the colonial revolt - - - ~ - I S4* 

the ftate of the nation at that epoch - - 15 5. —8 

— _ the loffts of trade from the war of the colonies - 160 

the revival of trade on the peace * 163-4 

the national debt - 176.— £ 

. . . the new finking fund eftablifhed - - - *8© 

— the numbers of people during his reign - - 220-1 
the coinage, trade, and (hipping of his reign, 234— the chrono- 
logical tabic 

the numbers of (hips within the Britilh dominions, 1791, Q~s 

9 3, and 1800 * 286,— 35* 

— the profperity of Eritain from 1783 to 1793 * a6 9* — %z 

George 



THE INDEX, 



&eerge III. a new war begins - * • - 2I3 

the ftate of the nation - 284.. — 7 

*- — the loffes of trade * - - - -28S 

- — 1* the people being more enlightened, more induflrious, and more 
opulent, are more able to bear the misfortunes of bufinefs and 
war - 288. — 387 

Greenlsfftd Fi/hery, Mate of, in 1772-51 compared with 17S2-5 - 169 



Hale, Lord Chief Jufice % fuppofed man urged to procreation by 
inftinct - - - - - - 1-2 

n fuppofed England to contain two millions of inhabitants at the 
conqueft - - - • - • 4 

— — his opinion in favour of a progreflive population - 50 

^ his favourable judgment of the parifh regifters - - 4* 

Hearth -Tax, of 1696, account of - 196 
— — — Gregory King's calculation of, with obfervations - zyf 
— — produce of in Ireland at different periods - - 222 

Henry V. King, the want of inhabitants in his reign, occafioned by 
the war and by the plague - 18-19 
Henry Vlh King } drew over woollen manufacturers from the Nether- 
lands - - - - - - 26 

Henry Vllh King, agriculture and gardening much improved in his 
reign - - - - - - -28 

■ intereft of money at 10 per cent. - - - 29 

Highways* the firft act for their repair in the time of Queen 
Mary - - - - - - -33 

■ turnpikes eftablifhed in the reign of Charles II. - ibid, 

— — advantages of turnpike roads to population • - 125 

■' ' the progrefs of - ... 146-7^ 

» ■ «tm greatly improved fince the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle - 147 
Holland, interpofition refpecting, in 1787 ... 371 
Houfes in England, the number returned to the tax- office at different 
periods, from 1750 to 1794 - 21-318* 
"—-♦number of houfes chargeable in 1756 and 1794 - 214 

— the number of houfes in each county in England and Wales, 
in 1690, 1708, 1750, 1781, and i8ci ... ai6 

the controveriy about the true number decided - - 215 

»— — number in Ireland in 1672 and in 1791 - - 223 

Hume (Mr. David) his opinion on population - - 2.— 15 

— — his opinion on government - - - f 

• his perplexityaboutthe populoufnefs of Elizabeth's reign - 38 

his declamations on the national debt » - - 13* 



THE INDEX, 

James I, King, his reign aufpicious to profperity and populouf= 
nefs - - - - - - 4* 

— lalutary laws palled in his reign ... ibid, 

his endeavours to afcertain the imports and exports - Pref. ii, 

II. King, his annual Income, £.2,061,856.75. $\d. 63.— So 

Jennyns (Soame) his notions of the depreciation of money - 32S 
Improvements (local) table of the acts of parliament for, in eight; 

years, ending \vi:h 1792 - - 275 

— in eight years, ending with 1800 - - =311 

Improvement of Land, progrefs in the reigns of Queen Anne,GeorgeI„ 
George II. and George III. - - - - 313 

Indofures, proclamations againlt, as injurious to hufbandry - 3?, 
— — progrefs of, from the time of Queen Anne - 94. — 313 

Income and Expenditure, view of in 1784 - =■ - 27S 

■ in 1786 - - - - - 28* 

• in 1 80 1 - - - - - - 348 

Infpeflor General of the exports and imports, eihblifhment of 

Pref. iii. 

■ ■ who the firft — who the fecond - ibid, iv, 

t in Scotland, when eftablifhed - ibid, yu 

Injiincl, the caufe of procreation - s 

Infurances, the price of, to different countries - - 30S-9-10 

lnterejl of Money, ic per cent, in time of Henry VII T, - ~q 

— — in 1623, 1 educed from 10 to 8 per cent. - - 3.- 

-— — in 165 x, reduced to 6 per cent. - - - - 45 

... of the national debt, reduced to 4 per cent, in 1727 - no 

« in 1750, to || for feven years, after that to 3 per cent. 120 

reduction of - - - - - . 

Ireland, produce of the hearth tax in, at different periods - i%% 

■ ■ ■ number of houfes in, in 1672, and in 1791 - - 223 

population of in 1672, and in 1791 - 223, 

Judges, advantages from the increafe of their falaries - - 244, 



King, Gregory, fuppofed England to contain two millions of inhabi- 
tants at the conqueft - - - - _ <j, 

■ extraols from his calculations on population - 52. — 4-5-6. 

• praifed ------ Pref. x 

his life - - - - - 385 

« his political conclufions * 407- 

his ftatement of the city of Glocefter - - 44.5 

■ ■- his eftimate of the endowed hofpitals - - 448 



Labourert 



THE I K D E 



labourers, Statute of, temp. E. III. account of it - 8.— 2d* 
— other regulations in the fame reign « - "9 

the ftatutes being confirmed by Rich. Il.caufe the rebellion of 
Tyler and Straw - - - «. -10 

* revifed in the reign of Elizabeth - - 35-6 

Ledger of the exports and imports, when, and by whom eilablifhed 

Pref. iii, 

—» — what information it furnifhes - ibid. iv. 

Linen Manufactory, the quantity of linens flamped for fale in Scot- 
land, in the years 177 1, 2, 3, 4 - 196 
. — — ftate of, in Scotland, in 1728 and 1775 - " i2 4- — 3* 

v— — of Scotland, in 1773, 3, 4, compared with 1782, 3,4- 231 
— — quantity ftamped for fale, in Scotland in 1789, 1790, 1,2, $ 

- 3oz 

Liverpool, between Auguft 26, 1778, and April 17, 1779, fitted out 
120 privateers, of 30,787 tons, 1,986 guns, and 8,754. men 40 

« the hiftory of her population, trade and fhipping - ibid, 

i-r — her commercial diftrefs from the bankruptcies of 1793 - 295 



— raeafures for her relief - 300 

rapid in creafe of its population - - - 218 

* houfes in, at different periods - ibid. 

London, her trade and {hipping in 1789 to 1793 - - 41. — 69 

Lords of Trade quoted - - - - - 267 



LytteUon y Lord, in 173 1, wrote fa&ioufly on the ftate of England 

112 



Mac-Artbur (John) reprehended - Pref. viii. 

Magna Charta, added fecurity to the free, but little freedom to the 
Have 

Malt, comparifon of the quantity confumed in 1773,4, 5, with 
17S0, 1, 2 - - - - - - 191 

Mancbejler, houfes in, in 1773 and 1783 - - 218 

Mankind, prone to complain of the prefent - - Pref. i. 

Manufactures, Walloon manufacturers come to England - 2i 
— — came over from the Netherlands - - 21-22. — 25 

■ England over-run with foreign manufacturers - 25-26 

* many thoufands brought over in 1549 - - - 3* 

Manufactures, the great encouragement given to them - 148 
— — acquired fince the Revolution - 208 

Value of the exports (exclufive of the woollen) in 1699, 1700, 1701, 
compared with 1769, 76, 71 - - - 209 

Manufactures* 



THE INDEX, 



Manufactures, number of acts of parliament for the encouragement 
of, in i o years - - - - 273 

— (British), value of, exported, in 1774. and 179a, com* 

pared - - - - - 284-5 

Maty, Queen, in her reign the firft act. for repair of highways 33 
Meadows (Sir Philip), his general eftimate of the trade of Eng' 
land ------- 239 

Molefwortk, Lord, his declamations - - - 108-9 

Money, intereft 10 per cent, in the time of Henry VIII. - 29 

fubftance of a parliamentary debate on circulation in the reign 

of Henry VIII. - - - 29-30 

— — the intereft reduced, in 1623, from 10 to S per cent. - . 45 
— — in 1651, reduced to 6 per cent. - - - 45 

. — ■ - ■ in circulation, according to Davenant, £.18,500,000, accord- 
ing to King, £.1 1,500,000 - - - 65 
. £.3,400,000, brought into commerce by fupprefling of ham- 
mered money, 1697 - - - - - 84* 

borrowed by government, in 1702, at 5 and 6 per cent. - 84 

intereft fixed at 5 per cent, in 1714 - - - ■ 98 

intereft in the reign of Geo. I. 3 per cent. - y% 

falutary effects of reforming the coin - - - %$% 

— — advantages of an increafmg circulation - - 187 

rt evils of an obftructed circulation - 1S9 

, advantages of a well-regulated coinage - - 259 

, value of, coined from Q^Eliz. to 25 Mar. 1793 - 261 

1 quantity in circulation at various periods - - 262-5 

_ intereft of, a criterion of the plenty or fcarcity - - 264 

the depreciation thereof inveftigated - - - 335 

, its effeft on prices - 323- — 3* s -— 334 

, its effect on the civil lift - - - - 335 

More (Sir Thomas), his remarkable fpeech - - 29-30 

National Debt, at Lady-day 1702, 10,066,777 « 64 

= nrft funded 1711 , £.9,471,325 - - -So" 

in 1714, £.50,644,306. 13-r. Hd. - - 87 

. advantages of a national debt - - - 98-9 

at theacceffion of Geo. IL more than 50. millions - no 

. — -the intereft reduced to 4 per cent, in 1727 - - 110 

, Dec. 31, 1738, £.46,314,829 - - - ibid, 

Dec. 31, 1 749, £-74,221,686 - 119 

the intereft reduced to j| and 3 per cent. 1750 - 120 

— — in i762,£. 146,682, 844 - - - 139 

, nature of it explained ibid, 

*— m i77«j> £<nS$W>°$\ " . . • a ' W 

National 



THE INDEX. 



National Debt in 1783, £.211,302,429 - - - "tti 

, , unfunded debt at that time, £.1 2,856, 542 - - *'*7+ 

< difriculties arifir.g from unfunded debts - - 174-5 

m ftate of, at the end of the wars of 1764 and 17S4, com- 
pared - - - - " - -176. 

011785, £.239,!54>S8o - - 179 

,, a finking fund of one million eftabliffced for the difcharge of 
it - - - - 179-80 

National Debt, ftate of, in 1786, 1793, and lSci - 33 8 "9 

» . » unfunded, in 1793, and 1801 - 34°-* 

reduction of, by the finking fund - - 241-245 

Navigation Acl, the principle of the a6l introduced In j 381 - 24 
Navigations, Inland, advantages of ... 14.7 

o . . the great attention paid to them fince the Revolution ibid. 
Navy of England, in 1581, 72,450 tons, and 14,295 mariners 40 
****** feemen regiftered in London in 1732, 21,797 - 41 

4$ — the bounty given by different kings for building large mips 

■ 42-3 
— - ftate of, in 1660 — 62,594 tons 

1675 — 69,681 

1688 — 101,032 

1695—1 1 2,400, 66. 

■ wi" ' comparifon of the Englifh and French fleets in 1693 - 67 



— — In 1701, 261,222 tons, 14,591 failors - - 88-9 

— — afterwards, in Q^Anne's reign, 273,693 tons, 16,422 failors, 

88 

— — ftate of, at various periods in that reign - - 89 

— — at the acceffion of Geo. I. - 103 
— — ftate of, at various periods in that reign - - ibid. 

— «— ftate of, in 1727, 1741, 1749 - - - ji6 

Navy of England, Rale of, in 1749, 1754) 1760 - - 129 

ftate of, in 1754, 1760, 1774 - 157 

— — additions made from 1775 to 1781 - ibid, 
— , ft3te of, in 1783 - 158-9 
*— — . ftate of, in 1792 - 252 
Navy of England in 1760, 1774, 1792, and 1800, compared 287 
Nootka, interpofition refpe&ing, in 1790 - - - 371 

Newfoundland Fifkery, comparative ftate of, in 1764-5, with 
1784-5 - - - * - - x65 

Ockzakovj, interpofition refpe&ing, in 1 791 - - ibid. 



P&ce difcuffetl 



THE INDEX. 



Peace, commercial advantages of, ftated - - * 365 
Pbilips, Erafmus, his ftate of the nation * - - - 103 

P*9or Z>t*ivs, originated in the reign of Elizabeth - 3$ 
Poor Rates, at the end of the reign of Ch. II. £.665, as given in to 
parliament, 1776, £.1,556,804. - 303 

Pope, A. wrote on the diftreffed ftate of England in 1738 
Population, opinions about the caufe of - - « »-* 

Population of England, the influence of plenty of provifion$ - a 
>■■ ill effects of the conqueft on - - . 

civil war and peftilence alfo greatly affected it , $*~x $ 

1 obfervations on the ftatute of labourers, temp. Edward III. 
— — half the inhabitants of E ngland died in the plague of 1 349 t% 
■-' ■ number of people in England and Wales in 1377 - 14 

■■ the numbers of people in the principal towns - 16—17 

—* — the tax paid by moftof the principal towns in 2377 - ibid. 

0— — Edward III. raifed 100,000 men to invade France in j 360 18 
■ ■■ 1 fuch great armies no proof of population - - j<j 
p . various circumftances of depopulation - - ibid* 
— — 1 the advantage to population by the diflblution of monafteries 37 
the number of fighting men in England in 1575 > 37 

1 in 1583, 1,174,000 — thenumber of inhabitants - -38 

communicants and recufants in 1603, 2,065,4.98 - 35 

e Conformifts, Non-confonnift;, and Papifts, in 2689, 

2,599*726 ------ 50. 

— — the evidence of parifh regifters confidered - - 51 

*— — - houfes in England and Wales in 1665, 1, 230,000— -1690, 

1,300,000 - - - - - 51 

— number of inhabitants, according to Gregory King, 
5, 500, ©00. - 

1 various calculations on the number to be allowed to each. 

houfe - - - - 55 . e 

• 7,000,000 inhabitants at the Revolution - - 57-g 

— — the quick raifing of armies no proof of - - 58-^ 

— fuppofed by fome to have decreafed from the Revolution, but 
the contrary fhewn - - - - 73-4. 

^ an uncommon demand for manufactures caufes an apparent 

decreafe of population - 7 g_2 
in the reign of Anne Great Britain contained 4,025,0 do 
fighting men - - - - - 83 

— various temporary caufes of a decay of - - 125 
a want of labourers a proof of prosperity and population isi-a 

Population 



THE INDEX. 



?§pulation of England, encouraged by the free Kritilh Fifhery and the 
Society of Arts, &c. • - - 123-4, 

— — . by turnpikes and navigation - - 124- 5 

an increafe, proved by a comparifon of the duties on foap,~ 
candles, and hides - - - -128-9 

proved by increafed exportation - - 137 

review of the controverfies concerning - - 193-7 

account of the hearth-tax of 1696 _ 197 

■ ■ - Gregory King's calculation of the number of inhabitants, ac- 
cording to their clafTes - - - - 203 
m . enquiry whether the number of cottages are increafed or de- 
creafed - - _ - - 204-7 

j number of cottages returned in 1759 anc * l 7% 1 - 20 S 

«r ftages of, as affected by the employment of the people 211-12 

« progrel's of, from the conqueft to the prelent time, according 

to their employments - - - 212-13 

— arguments of an encreafed, from the regilters of baptiims 

217-18 

■ no arguments to be drawn from fome counties being faid to 
have decreased, which is in general owing to the neglee~l of making 
accurate returns - - - - 217 

«. law of fettlements detrimental to - - 2*9 

— — — increafed in Lancafliire, within 90 years, more than with the 
boafted rapidity of the American Mates - - 218 

. at piefent, more than nine millions, 221. - Pref. ix. 

— - — of Ireland, Mate of the hearth-tax at various periods, from 
1687 to 178 - . - - - - 222 

■ n4te of, in 1672, and in 1791 - 223 

, — _ the controverfy about it decided - Pref. ix. 

-of the Country, forced into towns - - - 31S 

decreafe of in the agricultural counties - 318-19 

■ of Scotland, ftate of, at the Union, compared with Eng- 
land, from the revenue, the cuftom-houfe duties, portages, re- 
coinage, and excife - - - - 224-5 
. — — at the Union, the number of people complained of as a burthen 3 
226 } and at prefent, 224— 

, advantages derived to it from the Union - -225-6 

Pofi Office, average revenue, four laft years of W. III. £.82,319* 

72-90 

— — firft four of Q^Anne's war, £. 61,568. - - 90-1 

1707/8, 9, io, average, £. 581,05a, - 91 

Pofl 



THE INDEX. 

Pojl Office, revenue in 171 x, 12, 13, 14, average, £, 90,223. 91 

income of, in 1754 and 1764. - 13a 

revenue of, 1 7 64 and 1774, compared - =152 

.evenueof, in 1755, 1765, 1775, 1784, 1785* ** j6 4° 

revenue of, in 1 786 to 1792. - 277 

Prefs, independent , of more efficacy than penalties - 181 

(rife (.Dr.) confuted - - Pref. Ix. ax 3, 214 

Prize Ooods, the value of exported from 1793 to 1800 - 307 

■ Do imported - - - - ibid a 

Procreation^ Judge Hale, Sir James Stuart, and Buffon, coniider men 
as urged to it by natural inftindt - - - 1, a 

Regijler General of Shippings when eftablHhed, and by whom Pref. iv. 
Rejloration, its happy effects - - 45 

Revolution, advantages and difadvantages of - 74-5 

changed the maxims of adminiftration - - 74 

Richard HI. King, during his reign the trade carried on chiefly by 
Italians - 25-6 

Romans, in England from 55 years before Chrift to the year 446 
after - - - - - 3, 4 

Rofe (George) quoted - - - 266 

Sailors, the number employed in 1 700-1, compared with thofe em- 
ployed between 1764 and 74, and in 1792 ~ - 210 
Scotland, advantages derived to that country from the Union 

94-5. 226-7 

— — Mate of the linen manufactory in 1728 and 1775 - 227 

ftate of the fhipping and commerce in 171a and 1792 - 228 

— improvements in the manufactures of - - 231-^ 

her population - - - - 22,4 

" linen cloth damped for fale in 1789, 1 790-1-2-5 - 30& 
• (hipping and trade of, in the fame years - - ibid* 

exports from, in 1782, 1786, 1789, 1792, and 1795 - ibid* 

— — value of exports from, in different years from 1755 to I78£ 

229 

trade and fifhing of, in 1769, 1774, 1784, 1785 - 23© 

fhipping of, in 1759, 1761-3-4* *7^2 and 1792 - ibid. 

Shipping, See chronological table - 234, 

< acts of parliament for the increafe of, *» » 27$ 

increafe of, from 1772 to 1792 - -285 

— — quantity of, belonging to the Britifli dominions in 1791-2-30 

286 

H h Shipping 



\ 



THE I N D E X. 

Shippings (Brltiih) in 1793 and i8co compared - - 30? 

■ profit on the freight of, in 1688, 1774, i 7^4j 2nd 1792 237 

- * in 1702., 190,533 tons, and 11,4.32 faiiors - 66 

—~ companion- of the exports or 1726, 7, 8, with 1736, 7, 8, 

112, 

ftate of, at various periods, from 1736 to 1 751 - 117 

from 174-9 to 1762 ----- 131 

— — to 1766' - - - - -132 

— — ufeful regulations of - - - - - 150 

— a companion of the fhlps cleared outwards in 1764., 5, 6, with 

1772, 3, 4 - - - - '- - 152. 
— _ ft a te of the mips cleared outward from 1772 to 1782 - 160 
companion of the mips cleared outwards in 1758, 9, 6o, 1, 2, 

with 1778, 9, 80, 1,2- - - - - 161 

■ mips cleared outwards at different epochs, from 1749 to 1785 

164 

• of K, William's reign, compared with that of the prefent 

reign - - - - - - - - 5.10 

ftate of that of Scotland before the Union, in 1712, and 1784 

225 ' 

comparifon of the mips cleared outward and entered inward in 

1709, 18, 37, 51, 2, 3, 7f, 2, 3, and-1784, 1790,9?, 9a 255-6 
Sinking Fund, firft eftablifhed in 1716 - - 100 

furplus of taxes in 1738 f. 1,231,127 - - 114 

Hate of, from 1764. to 1776 - - , - 155 

the advantages of - - - - 1 80 

— — former ones eftabifhed by lowering of intereft - 180-r 

. the neceiTiiy of its being held facred by future minifters - i8r 

_ of one million, will in fixty years diicharge 317 millions, at 75- 
percent. - - " ' - - : _ 182-3 

. of" more importance than the acquifition of the American 

mines - - - - - - - - 183 

— advantages of, by encreafmg the circulation of money 185 — 8 
— how much ftock wes purchafed by it in eight years - 183-4, 

■ how far Mr. Pitt's finking-fund went beyond Earl Stanhope's 

1 calculation - - - - - 184 

operations, of - - - - 280-1 

— ~ — progrelsofjfrom 1786^0 1801 - - « 341 — 345 

(new) progrefs of, from 1793 to 1801 - - 342 — 345 

Slaves, at the conquefr, the fale of them to infidels prohibited 20 
[ the purchafed labour of freedom more productive than the toil 
of Haves - - - - 23 

Smuggling, 



THE INDEX. 



Sv< u gg& n g-> advantages from the prevention of > - 191-2 ] 

Soap, comparifbn of the quantity co'nfumed in 1773, 4, 5, with 
x 780, 1,2 - - - - -!' -191 
Spain, her error in joining the aflbciated powers againft England 171 
Stanhope, Earl, calculations on the linking fund - ~ 184, 

Stocks, ftatement of the prices cfin 1724., 5^ and 1S00, I I- 350 
Strength of Nations, various opinions of - - - 60 

Sweden, mterpofition refpecling, in 1788 - - - 371 



'Taxes, firft eftabliftied in the great Rebellion - - - 44 

-in 1701, £.3,769,375 - 85-6 

in 1707, 8, 9, 10, each year, £. 5,272,578 - 86 

furplus of, in George I. reign - - - 100 

furplus of taxes in 1738 , £. 1,251,127 - - 114 

- produce of, from 1784 to 1 801 - 346-7-8 

Trade. See Ccrnmerce. 
Turnpikes. See Highways. 



Vagabonds, an acl concerning them in the time of Edward VI. when 
each perfon living idly for three days was to be marked with a V. 
and to become the flave of the perfon taking him up - 31 
that la%v foon repealed - - - - 3s 

ViBual, more raifed now in a bad year than formerly in a good one 

Villainage, the difficulty of tracing the time when it ceafed in Eng- 
land - - - - . T - . 23 . 3 
Villains, few at the acceflion of Henry VIII. - _ -23 
Union of the Kingdom, advantages derived from it - - 94-5 



Walpole (Sir Robert) anecdote of him - m 
War, expences of, more than (laughter, debilitates a country - 11% 
— . few ufeful hands taken off by it, proved from increafed manu- 
factures and exports - » - _ - 137 
- — - chiefly deftruclive by obftrufling circulation - - 191-2 

the loffes from - ^oS 

• the gains from - 307—13 

Whitakar (Mr.) his hiftory of Manchefter praifed - _ 4 _ 5 

W "Mam I. King, revolution of property and power, in his reign 5 
— — ill effects of the conqueft on population - = 6 

William J II. King, his annual income, £. 4,4x5,360 - - ^ 

Wilfon (Dr.) quoted - - - . „ 367-g 



THE INDEX. 

Wtndoik j Tax obfervations on, from 1710 to the prefent time 177 
Wines, low, companion of the quantity confumed in 1773, 4, 5, with 
1780, 1, 2 - - - 169 

Wood, Wm* his ftate of the nation - 91 — 105 

■ who he was - - - = - 91 

Woollen Mauufafture, the progrefs of, from 1215 - - 21-s 
■-. in 1485, had been fixed in every county in England - 24 
^— — of Yorkfhire, at this time greater than the whole woollen ma- 
nufacture of England at the Revolwtion - 208 
— exported in 1699, 1700, 1, compared with 1769, 70, 71, and 
with^790, 91, 9a - 209 

■ continees to flourifh - - * - -208 

• how many people it employs - - • - ibid. 

WaoU (cotton) the quantity imported into England, in fucceflive 
years - - ~ « - - 209 

' (Spanilh) the quantity imported into England, in fucceflive 

years - — - - - - - ibid* 



1 



THE EN IX 



Luke; Hanfard, Printer,, 
Great Turnftile, Lincoln's-InnFieldd. 



